“And, my thoughts seem to scatter, but I think it’s about forgiveness --- forgiveness even if you don’t love me anymore” some of the lyrics to The Heart of the Matter by Don Henley play through my head as I prepare to write.
Forgiveness, it’s such a funny word. In theory it seems so easy to forgive. We learn that God has already forgiven us by His death on the cross, so then we should be able to move forward with relative ease, yet it seems so hard.
The word forgiveness means the act of forgiving, so let’s take a closer look at the word forgive. According to Merriam-Webster to forgive means to cease to feel resentment against and reading a bit further means to grant relief from payment of. Interesting because at times, we can carry resentment in our hearts for others and we can feel like we are owed something.
So, learning first to forgive ourselves before we can forgive others becomes a valuable piece in healing a broken relationship.
Are there choices I made in my life where I could have chosen differently? Of course. Are there choices I made that brought on certain situations in my life? Of course. Are there times that I behaved with abandon/recklessly and caused harm known or unknown to myself and others? Of course. Do, I need to continue to pay for my sins over and over again? I do not. Instead, I can choose to make better decisions. I can choose to be more thoughtful. I can choose to walk away. I can choose to fight, but I can choose to fight in a way that is more thoughtful and less harmful to myself and those around me.
As I begin to let go of the resentment I hold inside for myself, as I begin to let go of the hurt, the anger, the disappointment, and the frustration I hold inside for myself, I naturally begin to let go of the debt I feel I have to pay. This in turn helps me to let go of the debt I feel that I am owed. And, I begin to live in a cycle of peace and trust where I am strengthened by the discipline of getting down to the heart of the matter in learning to forgive.
It’s not that we are not loved anymore, it’s that we have not been able to completely let the love in. And, so our thoughts will be less scattered as we learn to forgive and open our hearts toward light and love.
To complete the activity for On Fire For Life| Week 7 Day 1| Learning to Forgive click here.
Ya’ll have a wonderful day!
All My Love,
Jen
To view On Fire For Life|Week 6 Day 5| Opening a Door click here.
To view the On Fire for Life series click here.
Comments