Thursday, May 26, 2011
Forgiveness
It says in the word that we must forgive and pray for our enemies. Enemy is a strong word for me because I don't feel that I really have any. One of the perks of being a wimp I guess. But I do have people whom I would equate with the word, and its always for the same reason; because they hurt me in some way. There are a few people in particular that I have struggled for years to forgive. I know that the word of God says that if we do not forgive, He won't either. It's only fair I think, it is for our own good. But, man! It's hard. I get the concept and I want it and I say it, but I just don't feel it. I want to feel it because God knows whats best for me and I trust Him.....but...it's really hard to forgive someone who never even acknowledged that they did anything wrong. At this point, an acknowledgement would suffice because it's too late for I'm sorry.
I was discussing this with my two girlfriends at lunch today. They both know me and know about my past experiences. One of them told me today that I seem sad. I haven't seen her in about six months. She told me to pray for those that I am having trouble forgiving. "Try it for 15 days and see what happens, and if you skip a day you have to start over." So, I am. For the first time, I'm gonna pray for my enemies. It's not like I haven't heard this concept before, but like I said, the word "enemy"....I guess I got hung up on that. Then I looked it up. One of the definitions of "enemy" is ; "something destructive or injurious in it's effects". I thought; yep, that's it. So, anyway, I'm praying.
"Forgive and you will be forgiven." Luke 6:37.
And now for some free-form poetry:
I am continuing my journey on the path of life with my broom in hand.
It has been cluttered by the things that I allow to get in my way because I never swept them up
I think I need a vacuum cleaner
Man I am good. :-)
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Hey Kami, this was such an excellent post, and I loved the free-form poetry. :) My friends and I often talk about the magic of the broom, being able to sweep troubles away.
ReplyDeleteAnd I can't recall where I heard this, but someone said, "When you're cleaning your house, you don't stop and contemplate the dirt's 'past.' You simply clean it up and move on."
This seemed so symbolic to me, as a way of not getting hung up on past "gunk."
Forgiveness is something I've struggled with as well, and I think what turned it around for me was Louise Hay's book, You Can Heal Your Life. In it, she talks about forgiveness as being a pathway to empowerment. The thing for me was realizing forgiving someone didn't mean supporting their destructive behavior. It was saying, "I will not allow this destructiveness to hurt me any more." And by forgiving the destructive behavior, we are stepping away from it and protecting ourselves.
I'm still working on it. We all seem to be a work-in-progress, don't you find?
And you, you amazing lady, I would never consider you a "wimp." To me, you are such a strong woman.
Blessed be.
Laura
You are an AMAZING woman and I cherish our lunches... You are inspiring me to start my own blog!!! Writing is sooo therapeutic too... and you do it well. Maybe you have uncovered ANOTHER gift.. You are so artistic and I think any form of artistic outlet would be good for you. Looking forward to June 30th.. Love you very much...
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