Forgiveness is a funny thing.
Always talked about and suggested by people offering advice but very rarely achieved. We all drag the weight of grudges and resentment around with us. And not necessarily because we do not want to forgive but because it is so damn hard!
Earlier this week I found myself in a situation in need of me being forgiving. My boyfriend abandoned plans for a night in together and went to a gig instead. Which is fine, apart from the fact that he failed to inform me of the revised arrangements and left me to spend the evening alone.
As it worked out I had a rather nice evening but in this day and age communication isn’t hard at all, which is where I held my grievances. Now you may be thinking this sound trivial. If so, yes, you are correct! But I still spent a good two hours fretting and being generally annoyed by his actions (or lack of, as the case maybe).
Eventually I set about seeking Gods help, as he is the King of forgiveness (among many other things)! And of course my boyfriend is now forgiven and life moves on. But my point is that it took me a good few hours and Gods support for me to find forgiveness for someone not sending a text. So it’s no wonder it takes longer for a more serious situation requiring forgiveness. However even in this trivial situation I felt a weight disappear when forgiveness sunk in. Imagine the glorious relief after forgiving something more!
That is easier said than done. An analogy I heard recently changed comes to mind;
Not forgiving is like pouring a cup of poison and instead of handing it to the other person, you drink it yourself.
I have this image of the poison frothing and curdling inside my stomach and creeping up around my heart. And forgiveness is the only antidote. By not forgiving we prevent ourselves from moving forward. By no means am I suggesting that it will happen immediately. Allow yourself time, pray about it and do it for your own sake. And when it comes to forgive&forget maybe we should leave that to God!
But I, yes I, am the one
who takes care of your sins—that’s what I do.
I don’t keep a list of your sins.
isaiah 43 v 25
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