4/22/2024 0 Comments Clean hands pure heart bookI halted my steps, unable to approach him any further, unwilling to say anything. He had been my enemy, the very one who had inflicted the deepest wounds – wounds that had made my journey so slow and painful – wounds that I still bore, unhealed. My heart went chill as all feelings drained from it. My heart went out to him in fellowship, and quickening my pace, I hurried to overtake him, calling out to him, “Brother, wait! Wait for me!” But even with all his wounds, he had made it this far too. Whoever this poor soul was, I could tell that he was in at least as bad a shape as I was. Suddenly I noticed that another figure was hobbling along just ahead of me. And when the breeze carried just right, and I had my good ear turned, I could hear the music and smell the feast at the great party they were having. Even there along the lane, every tree was filled with yellow ribbons. Just over the next rise was “the green, green grass of home” and my family waiting to greet me. I had just entered into the last stretch in what had been a long and perilous journey home. I was walking up a long, tree-lined lane, and though I was ragged and wounded and still using a crutch to steady myself, I was full of excitement. One day I dreamed a dream and saw myself in a scene that was almost like something out of Gone with the Wind. The Lord has defined the standard for forgiveness: Remember, we are not making this list to drudge up old resentments, but to inventory them and surrender them to the Savior. It doesn’t matter whether the other person meant to hurt you or not, if it still hurts, put it down. If either you or the other person has hard or strained feelings, then something is not resolved. Put down anyone you would feel uncomfortable meeting today. Consider employers, friends, church leaders, anyone else who has wounded you. How many of us remember painful episodes from our childhood and adolescence – being shunned or otherwise hurt by our peers. Now think of people outside your family circle. Do you have some unresolved issues from your marriage (or from dating, if you are single) that need to be inventoried? Marriage provides plenty of opportunities for hurt feelings. If you have married, are you carrying around pain that you attribute to your spouse? Chances are, neither of you came from a perfect home, and chances are, neither of you has been a perfect marriage partner. What about brothers or sisters? What injuries from the past involve them? Put all these hurts on your list – they need to be acknowledged and dealt with. What resentments do you have towards your parents? Did they discipline or shame or ridicule you in ways that still hurt? Did you need more love and gentleness than they were able to give you? Were you provided with the necessities of life, or did you have to go without sufficient housing, clothes, medical care or even food? Even if you have excused your parents with the very likely observation that they did the best they could, are you still hurting over what they could not give you? And just as we hurt most those who are closest to us, we are also hurt most by them. Making this list can represent finally letting go of resentments we have carried far too long. Most addicts are champions at holding on to resentments and using those feelings as an excuse to act out. Now, if you are like me, you won’t have any trouble thinking of people to put on this list. Whether I owed them an apology or not is a separate question, but I definitely needed to at least let go of any bitterness I felt toward them. Thus, because the Lord requires me to pray for those who have despitefully used or otherwise hurt me, I needed to make a second list – one that would include all those I felt had harmed me throughout my lifetime.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |