Forgiven!

I can already tell this is going to be a HUGELY shared post! Ha ha ha!

But seriously, there are some specific things that we can unknowingly do that will strangle our life and the joy that is meant for us. It's called..."staying mad at every single person who you think hasn't treated you right."

I can personally guarantee that this specific thing will indeed make you and your life miserable, because I DID exactly that.  After my mom died, I was angry between 16 to 21, and would lash out for no reason. I kept mental records of every wrong done to me by everyone from my dad to my boss. I sincerely believed every one of those wrongs, should be made right and with interest. I typically moved that person to the "banished" zone until they made enough apologies or did something to redeem themselves in order for me to allow them back into my life. It's very controlling. And rather ugly.

But what I've learned, and sometimes I have to have a refresher on it...LOVE KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS. And that I, personally, need to forgive quickly AND often. Even the same creep who keeps doing the same things that caused me to be offended, angry or hurt. This is MAJOR WORK. And to be able to forgive, is a sure sign of maturity and bliss.

And there is blessing in forgiving. It's FREEDOM for the offended. Most people think "staying mad" is a way to be in control or power, but it's not. It's like a strangle hold, but on yourself. Most times the other person suffers very little, and the offended person suffers the most. So why hold on to something that only hurts you, and rarely--the person who hurt you?

And there are some FABULOUS rewards for forgiving.

I get a lot of emails that people say "this or that was unforgivable" and even one email was so emotionally difficult that they said they could never forgive this one person because they killed their brother. Talk about intense. But even at taking the life of a loved one. You are harboring the pain inside and making it harder on yourself.  You have to let go of all the bad to heal.

I remember reading a book by Corrie Ten Boom, "The Hiding Place," and she actually witnessed her sister being raped and beaten while they were prisoners in a concentration camp during Hitler's Holocaust. Here's the really incredible part, that they very guard who did those things met her years later, and she FORGAVE him!
Now that is called forgiveness of steel! My forgiveness is whimpy like a wet noodle...I hope to have the spiritual maturity and strength of Ms. Ten Boom.

Well, I hope this had encouraged you to forgive in more ways than you thought before, and more often than you have in the past. Even if it's the same person you have to keep CHOOSING to forgive over and over again, it's worth every effort.

(PS: this is not for someone who is physically abusing you. You need to get out and away from them. And yes should forgive them, but it's not wise to stay in a physically dangerous place. Forgive from a distance.)

I love your socks off as you forgive! And I hope it expands your territory and brings abundance into every area of your life!

Forgiven,

Kelly