Chapter 14: Forgiveness … cont’d

O Lord … In my previous prayer I wrote about forgiving. I described how difficult it was to forgive our enemies or those who hurt us. Come today, may I write to you one more time about another type of forgiveness. Yes, one that is much more difficult to do … forgiving someone whom we love, but who has wronged us!

Enemies are outsiders. They can hurt us for hundreds of reasons. But for someone whom we love and to whom we have given our lives to hurt and betray us, it’s the cruelest pain that can be inflicted upon mankind. How can we forgive them then? Without You, my Lord, it’s an impossible deed.

I am one who was able to go through the whole length of this tunnel of pain because You were with me throughout the ride. Yes, my Lord. I had to pray for years and years before I was able to forgive the man to whom I gave my life but who betrayed me. I was too weak to forgive him on my own.

Little by little, You lead me to understand that hating someone and wanting to revenge is like chaining ourselves to the bonfire of hatred. The more we want to revenge, the shorter we cut the chain, pulling us closer and closer to the fire. At the end we’ll be burnt alive being strapped pitifully alone to the pole. And where is the person whom we want to revenge? He is no where in sight to acknowledge our demise and oblivious to our suffering. He might even be beaming with satisfaction should he know he succeeded in hurting us.

On the contrary if we are able to forgive those who hurt us – no matter who they are – we’ll be liberating ourselves from the fire of hatred. Once we forgive, we can walk away from the fire and feel free to breathe fresh air again.

Forgiving does not mean we are a ‘loser’ or being weak. On the contrary, being able to forgive requires inner strength and makes us a ‘winner’, a winner of ourselves, of our own hearts. If we can’t do it at first, try asking for God’s Grace. At the end besides feeling free, we’ll also get satisfaction from our forgiveness. Remember this saying, “Love your enemy. You’ll drive him crazy”!

O Lord … may I prostate at Your feet. You have blessed me with Your Grace in freeing my heart from 2 huge bonfires. First I was able to forgive those who wrongly accused me of the crime I did not commit. Then I was able to cut the chain to the fire built by the only man I ever loved in my life.

If this isn’t the greatest feeling of freedom and freshness, what is?
I am grateful to You, my Lord.

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other,
just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32

Amen.

A Child of God