When to Reposition

     Years ago when my oldest daughter was an infant and sleeping in her bassinet next to my bed, I got up to change her in the middle of the night.  I placed her changing pad on my bed, laid out the new diaper, cream and wipes and had everything in order ready to be used because I knew I would need it.  I made sure to have all of it ready because any of you who have changed a squirmy, poopy infant know that you need everything where you can get to them efficiently and quickly in order to manage the situation.  I laid her toward me with her bottom facing me, peeled off her pajamas, and then her diaper and assessed the "damages".  It wasnt too bad so I knew it would be a quick change.  As I was lifting her bottom up to clean her up, she apparently finished what had gotten us there in the first place because apparently she was not done.  If you have ever changed a breast fed baby, you know that anything that comes out of them is loose...and I mean seriously loose.  As sat there in my shock, this child, in one push, littered me with poop from head to belly.  It happened so fast, all I could do was close my eyes.  She literally had sprayed me with poop.  I had it dripping from my hair, my face and down my pajamas. The first instinct is to drop and run, but clearly I could not do that as she could have rolled off the bed and was laying there naked and bottom covered in poop as well.  I quickly cleaned her up, redressed her and place her back in her bassinet.  All the while, poop is dripping from me and I admittedly was freaking out.  I assessed the damage to myself and my surroundings, and realized that it was only on me and had not hit anything else, so I quickly got up and literally entered the shower with clothes on at 4 am.  From that moment on, to this day, I have learned to never change a baby, any baby, with their bottom facing me. 
I didnt blame her for the mess, she was just a baby.  I blamed myself for not knowing enough not to have her bottom facing me (new moms take note).  I learned quickly never to set myself up like that  to allow it to happen again by using wisdom from there on out.
   We have all had to deal with messes that we didnt expect, and often are the ones sprayed with the consequence, left to do nothing but clean up.
When this happens enough times we learn to put barriers in place to protect ourselves.  For me, in this situation, it was re-positioning my daughter when changing her because I did not trust that it would not happen again.  Of course my daughter was just a baby and didnt know any better.  What about when its a situation where its someone who should know better.  I agree with forgiveness, as hard as it can be at times, when we become part of the mess someone else has created.  Forgiveness is always the best resort, but even with forgiveness, that doesnt mean you allow yourself to stay in a position of becoming sprayed with someones mess again.   Eventually you get tired of cleaning up.  A wise person knows when its time to still love and of course forgive, but when its time to re-position.  Many use the term "forgive and forget", but if by “forgive and forget” one means, “I choose to forgive the offender for the sake of Christ and move on with my life,” then this is a wise and Godly course of action. As much as possible, we should forget what is behind and strive toward what is ahead (Philippians 3:13). We should forgive each other “just as in Christ God forgave” (Ephesians 4:32). We must not allow a root of bitterness to spring up in our hearts (Hebrews 12:15).  However, if by “forgive and forget” one means, “I will act as if the sin or the mess had never occurred and live as if I don’t remember it,” then we can run into trouble. Forgiveness involves not holding a sin against a person any longer, but forgiveness is different from trust. It is wise to take precautions, and sometimes the dynamics of a relationship will have to change. “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty” (Proverbs 22:3). Jesus told His followers to “be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). In the context of keeping company with unrepentant sinners, we must be “innocent” (willing to forgive) yet at the same time “shrewd” (being cautious).
The ideal is to forgive and forget. Love keeps no record of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:5) and covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). However, changing hearts is God’s business, and, until an offender has a true, supernatural heart change, it is only wise to limit the level of trust one places in that person. Being cautious and re-positioning ourselves doesn’t mean we haven’t forgiven. It simply means we are not God and we cannot see that person’s heart.