The Habit of Asking Forgiveness

When my 2 teenagers were little and they hurt one another or had an argument, after they calmed down, I would make them apologize to each other, give a hug, smile at each other, and say "I love you."  The smiling thing usually made them giggle, and they were on their way playing again.  Were they always sorry?  Of course not!  Were they ever sorry?  I don't have a clue.  I require the same of my younger two now. 
   Some may argue that I shouldn't try to force them to be sorry, I shouldn't allow them to fake being sorry, or that I'm wasting my time and being manipulated.  You might be right.  But,  I don't think so.  My older girls, Ashley and Briana, ages 19 and 16, were discussing this with me the other night, and they agree that even though they didn't always mean it when they said they were sorry, that they think it was a good thing.  They said that it got them into the "habit" of asking forgiveness.  In other words, as they got older, they were used to acknowledging another's feelings, and they eventually began to own it for themselves.  Their brains and mouths were used to the words, "I'm sorry" and "I forgive you", so there was not a gigantic prideful issue to overcome.
   Is this fool proof?  No.  It only works along with the Holy Spirit.  It is just one of the many training tools used by parents to teach their children to be respectful.  But, only through the work of the Holy Spirit will they truly own it for themselves and have a heart of love, compassion, and empathy for other people. 
   Those 2 girls are such a joy to be with.  They are also best friends. They love their Lord, and He has blessed them with hearts of love, compassion, and loyalty.  And, to think, God was able to use a few of my little efforts, and He was able to do that in spite of my many shortcomings. 
   As an added note--homeschooling, which we used to think only really weird people did, among other things, also played a big part in their friendship developing as it has. 
  I am so thankful for all these blessings.
Letitia
P.S.  Look for my avatar to change.  Some people were tired of me looking like an axe murderer in my posts!  : )  So, I'm giving up my night job, and I'll show you (if you're brave enough) what I look like on my day job.