The Most Powerful Words to Teach Your Kids...

The whole world has been watching and hoping this week (Feb 10, 2026) for an apology.

No one really will ever know the heart behind the post.

Everyone has their opinion, which they are entitled to.

Was it a video meant to send a not-so-hidden, crude and terrible message purposely left to tee up the video which would autoplay directly after the posted video?

Was it a video posted in haste without paying attention to the crude and terrible video in line to autoplay afterward?

Either way, the message was seen and heard around the actual world; degrading human beings who are made, like you and me, in the image of God.

Our brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, aunt and uncles, spouses, children, neighbors, coworkers, friends, pastors…. saw it, felt it, and it hurt. It hurt all of us, though for some on deeper, much more painful levels. For some people I love, it triggered some pretty painful memories and experiences that should not have ever happened, let alone be happening in 2026, coming from the account of the highest office in the free world.

And yet, it did. 😔

So now what?

I for one would sure love to hear a heartfelt, humble, sincere, tearful apology, explaining what happened (if it were indeed an accident) and sincerely asking forgiveness.

These kinds of situations - the kind where a solid, authentic apology would surely help honor and heal those hurt - they bring up a good internal question: how good are YOU at giving a sincere apology?

Do you immediately set your heart and posture to righting the wrong - whether purposefully or accidentally; or do you explain the situation away with your real intentions, avoiding taking ownership of causing harm; whether it was intentionally or unintentionally?

I’ve been married a long time. 35 years as of this writing.

I’ve raised 6 kids through to adulthood.

One of the most powerful things a spouse, parent, sibling, or child can do in a family situation is apologize and meet a person in their pain. Yes, it can feel embarrassing to be called out on something you did, whether you meant to or not. There is nothing like having someone (or the whole world 😔) come to you; hurting, angry, upset with you for something you did or said, to reveal your true character and humility as you navigate the conflict through to resolution. Healthy resolution. And while feelings aren’t good stand alone guides for navigating our lives, they are there for a reason. I believe God created feelings to help us relate, to help us express our hearts, and to serve as sign posts when what we may know as facts don’t always align with the whole picture of a persons experience. Feelings help us connect, relate, and share on a heart-level capacity.

One of the most powerful things any leader, teammate, or fellow citizen can do out in the rest of the world beyond the home is apologize and meet a person in their pain. There are IQ (intelligence) and EQ (emotional intelligence) tests that measure how a person relates and navigates their way in their position and with humans. When any leader - whether in the home, a classroom, a business, a team, and from a group of 2 young children all the way up to a president with a full staff running a country - has the smarts and the heart to admit when something wrong has happened, asking how they can be a part of making it better for that person and saying I’m Sorry for my part in your pain - people feel seen, valued, heard, and known.

If you’re reading this and you feel sick, hurt, second hand embarrassed, and grieving over the lack of apology, I’m sorry this happened. I’m sorry and no one deserves this kind of unkindness. It’s wrong and I wish it didn’t exist. But since it does, and if you never get the apology from the person you’d like to get it from, just know that I for one am sorry, and I don’t agree with that video and wish that small, terrible thinking didn’t exist.

On the flip side of an apology, I want to briefly mention the power of forgiveness. Forgiveness is for you. It doesn’t need an apology and it certainly doesn’t say that what happened was right or okay. Forgiveness says, “I no longer hold that against you inside of me” and releases it. Forgiveness sets YOU free, once you realize that holding on to bitterness, rage, and anger is like a cancer in your body and spirit and can steal your joy without the person you are holding offense against EVER knowing or feeling what you’re feeling and holding.

“Withholding forgiveness is like drinking poison, hoping it kills the other person.”

You don’t have to forget your experience. No, you are entitled to remember and own your story. But extract the lesson and move forward in forgiveness. FREE.

More on apologies and forgiveness down the road, but until then,

I’m sorry. I love you. And your feelings matter.

TRACI