You are never too young nor too old to consider the power and importance of forgiveness. Children's emotions explode, they yell at siblings, throw plates of food on the floor, kick toys to the floor, or say things they don't mean, like "I hate you." But moms and dads are there to forgive and model what it means. They don't expect a perfect child and they know what it means to make mistakes themselves. Kids wonder whether God will be so understanding and forgiving. The best we can say is:

"No matter what you say
or what you ever do,
God's loving heart
Never closes to you."

You can bank on that! God's love doesn't punish and doesn't blame and is always there to welcome us back. That's a gigantic love that calls us to the work of apologizing and reconciling.

"God's forgiveness is forever
no ifs or ands or buts!
God forgives every one of us
no matter why or when or what!"

August Gold covers the essentials of forgiveness and makes it relevant to those who are ages 3 through 6 years. She is founder and spiritual director of Sacred Center in New York City and the author of the award-winning Where Does God Live? and Does God Hear My Prayers? The photographs in this paperback are by Diane Hardy Waller. Does God Forgive Me? is multicultural, nondenominational, nonsectarian, and endorsed by Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Buddhist religious leaders.