Forgiveness! It’s such an awful feeling. However, many take this feeling on as normal. It’s dark and grimy.
Have you ever had the fretful experience of wallowing in regret? Was it an argument, an unpaid debt or a remark taken the wrong way? Maybe it was a message masked in miscommunication. Was your skin a little too thin that day? Do you remember at all? Do you remember that person? My friend, the weight of death is firm, and it is real. There is no round two. No second chances once death takes its place. No opportunity to make it right with that soul, to say, “I’m sorry” or “I love you.” There is no rest in knowing you’ve been heard and understood. I imagine it’s hard to remember. What began as a petty molehill somehow escalated into a mountain of who knows what, simply because neither of you chose to risk vulnerability for peace and love. No one sought forgiveness for the pure and simple sake of forgiving. You failed to reason. They chose to ignore your feelings. She blamed you. He never accepted his part in the problem. You both held on to strife. Whatever it was, it caused hurt and wreckage… enough to rip apart the very thing that was important to both of you. Somehow, now, life so short has ended so easily.
There are many things to keep in mind regarding forgiveness. We, God’s children, must carefully identify the enemy’s tactics and recognize when we allow him to do his work. When we become frustrated with ourselves and lash out at loved ones, our relationships can take a beating and end in strife. We must recognize when we give leeway to division and allow seeds of separation to take root. My friend, do not allow the enemy to steal your God-given relationships! Do not let him rent space in your heart where the love of God abides.
Excerpt from Proverb 1 in Better than Yesterday.
