This week, we’re featuring a series of blog articles that all relate to forgiveness. We hope this theme resonates with you as we start a new year. Today’s article was originally published on Aug. 15, 2013.

How often do you use the delete button when typing on the computer or texting on your phone? Whether it’s because you made a spelling error or decided to word things differently, it’s as easy as hitting a button. How many times do you wish you could delete hurtful moments in life, moments you said the wrong thing to someone or you gave into temptation?

How quickly we’d push that delete button knowing what we know now! We may not have that luxury, but we do have the luxury of receiving God’s grace, love and forgiveness. It’s always available to us! And it’s way more meaningful and fulfilling than a delete button.

All those moments in our lives that we wish we could delete or wish never happened have made us who we are today. Of course, there are some moments we feel we could still do without, but all of those moments taught us lessons.

Delete a letter when typing, and it’s gone as soon as you hit that button. Well, just like that button, when we ask God for forgiveness, He forgives us. When we are truly sorry and have an open heart, God sees that. He knows the things we do and He knows when we learn from our mistakes.

When you cringe at all of the moments in your life you wish you could take back, remember that you can use those experiences when you give your testimony to others. We not only learn from our mistakes, but others can learn from them, too. God can use our “deleted moments” when we reach out to others and share our story. A lifetime full of deleted/forgiven moments is a lifetime of lessons to learn from and share with others. Make sure you share your story with someone today!

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.