I Choose Forgiveness

Forgiveness….

A huge word, but do we truly know How to?

Forgive.

Sometimes there are moments that hold you back.   Moments of extreme pain, hurt, your wounds run deep.   When you think about that moment in time, your breath is taken away and your eyes begin to tear.   Or perhaps you feel the pain so bad that you want to hurt someone or get them back?

I know the pain, I have been there.     But it wasn’t until a few years ago where a change in me occurred. I realized the unforgiven were holding me back.     The pain was so heavy and I felt like a huge weight sat deep within.  

I stepped forward.   One of the biggest moments for me first was forgiving myself.   I forgave myself for being naive, for trusting, and allowing the pain. After that first step forward, I realized that I needed to forgive them too.

A moment in time, a choice that was made changed our lives forever.   It was my choice, and affected so many.   The pain, the guilt radiated.   I had to forgive myself and realize it all happened for HIS good and so much good came out of that moment. Love, strength, one turned to many.

The pain holds us back from being all that we can be.

The pain keeps us locked in shackles.

Only you have the key.

I chose to let it go and give it to Him.   I forgave the physical hurt, I forgave the pain.  

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

I forgave and let it go.   By letting it go we set ourselves free. One step at a time.

What is holding you back today?   Who hurt you?   Is it time to forgive and let it go?  

Are you blaming yourself? If you are, take a moment and look in the mirror, you are beautiful made, forgive yourself and wrap your arms around you and hug deep.     That is what God wants for you.

Feel the relief of letting go.

Where we have been does not define who we are.   The moments are simple reminders of the past that help us move forward or adjust.  You just need the courage to move forward. We cannot control what happens, but we can control how we choose to respond.

What is your response today? It’s time to let go my friend and move forward?   Take that one step forward.

Take a 2 minutes to watch this video http://blueprintforlife.com/blog/signs-of-forgiveness/

Dear Lord God,

Help teach us to love and let go. There are times where we are rocked to the core, help us to let go and give it to you.   Help us to love in the pain, help us to seek to understand before judging.   Lord there are many times where I feel like I cannot take it anymore, help reveal to us your never-ending peace and understanding.   Help us to seek your word in the times where our breath is taken away. Help us to trust in You father.       Help us to move forward. I pray for this in Jesus Name.

~Ness

Let It Go ~ An essential step in becoming whole again

Have you ever felt like something was holding you back?   Something stuffed inside a dark place, so heavy, that the weight was too much to bear?

I believe we go in waves of this feeling, sometimes we can get past it quite quickly by enacting the act of “Letting Go” and at other times, the hurt is so deep that we hold on.   We hold on and stuff it deep allowing it to seep inside our soul.

When we hold onto the hurt, it stops us for becoming all that we can be and from experiencing inner peace.

For me, there were so many hurts in my life that I stuffed and stored them deep down inside.   My insides were broken, and the weight was so heavy that I couldn’t carry it.   I was shackled with pain.

Sometimes, we do not realize how the hurt is holding us in shackles.  

How did I let go?

• I excavated my past and started searching my soul for the life events that made an imprint.  I then grabbed a pen, and sorted through the feelings and blame.
• I wrote a message to the boy that bullied me for a good portion of my childhood, and told him I forgave him and hoped that he would never experience the same pain.
• I wrote a message to the 4 boys that sexually assaulted me as a teenager, and forgave them.  I forgave them for hurting me so deep inside.  I forgave myself for trusting.   
• I forgave the ones that loved me for not seeing the pain I felt so deep inside.
• I forgave myself for making a choice that changed our lives forever.

Letting go can be difficult, because it often involves forgiveness.  Sometimes that forgiveness is a mountain of hurt.    But forgiveness does not mean reconciliation.    The beauty in forgiveness is it is something we can control.  Reconciliation involves two parties where both admit to wrong doings and learn to let go and move on.  The key to reconciliation is that both sides own their behavior.   We have no control over reconciliation.

Sometimes we just need to let go of the relationship completely because it is not good for us.   God wants a better life for us, and there are times where He steered his people out of bad relationships into something better (when the Israelites left Egypt).

What is holding you back?  Is it time to let go of the past?

Is a there a relationship that is zapping you dry?

Did someone hurt you?

Did something happen in your life where there is a whole lot of blame?

Forgive and let it go my friend…

Let it go in order to feel whole again.

Let Him lead you to a better place………………..

May you be blessed my friend ~Ness

Micah 7:18 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.

Perserverance

Have you felt overwhelmed or overloaded?

Have you endured pain?

Do you physically and emotionally feel depleted?

Does it seem like one issue after another continues to happen?

Don’t give up.

There is always hope, and there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

Life can feel light…. All you have to do is Trust, and lift up your thoughts or worries to Him. 

The story of Joseph in the book of Genesis reveals how life can bring many struggles.   Joseph was treated poorly by his brothers, who later sell him into slavery. He encounters many trials in life.  But one things that stays constant is that Joseph never stops trusting in the Lord in all things.   He lifts up his life to Lord.    He leads by example in all interactions which lead to him one day becoming one of the highest regarded advisors in Egypt.   Many years of struggle did not lead Joseph down a path of resentment or feeling sorry for himself.  Instead, he relied and surrendered to the Lord.     The gifts he received were beyond his wildest dreams.    He shows us forgiveness in the pain, by forgiving his own brothers that handed him over into slavery.     We see through his experiences forgiveness, perseverance, and trust in God in all things.   He asks God to guide his days, and God blesses him beyond his wildest dreams.

In this life once Eve bit the apple, we entered into a life that would have struggle.  But the one thing that holds true is that God is there for us.  He will help us navigate through difficulty, through painful experiences.   We need to persevere and not give up.   Look to God to help you navigate, rely on Him.   He will lead you through.

God will give us strength to push through in the painful circumstances.

Forgiveness is always possible with help from God.

God will bring good out of all things and sometimes we have to endure suffering or pain in order to feel light.  God does not inflict pain or suffering on us, but sometimes, just like a parent, he takes a step back and sometimes we learn things the hard way.

We need believe that we were meant for a life of abundance, we are what we think and this is what God wants for us.

God brings light out of darkness, and knows our needs.   All we have to do is Trust.

May you be blessed my friend and thank-you for popping by! ~Ness

Forgiveness

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”  And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. (Luke 23:34)

This statement from Jesus just takes my breath away.   In his last moments of human life, he asks our father to forgive.   After the people nailed him to the cross.   Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

I am sure in those last moments of life, as God looked down on his son, he shed a tear.   Thinking about this moment as a mother who also has a son, I feel the pain and sadness of these last moments.   Jesus knew that through his death would come life and renewal for us all.  He knew that he would bridge the relationship with our Father in heaven and that we would be forgiven for our sins.

I am thankful for the forgiveness……

We all need forgiveness in this life…..

Forgiveness came so easy to Jesus.  

Why is it so hard for us to forgive and let go?   Why do we hold onto pain?  

If you are experiencing pain in your life today, I ask you first what is the cause of the pain?   Is it anger because of something that happened, something someone did, or a moment that you believe you could never erase from your memory?

Luke 6:29 (NIV) “If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn them the other also.  If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.”

Jesus forgave us at this moment….  We too can forgive.   Sometimes it is hard to let go of the pain, but by letting go of the pain it will set you free.   Instantly you will feel a release.

I know pain very well, and for much of my life I was in shackles.   It was not until I acknowledged my pain and anger and who I blamed, was I able to step forward in loving myself and who God made me to be.   The biggest part of letting it go is through forgiveness of yourself and others.

It may be difficult to do, but if Jesus could do this in his last moments of life, where blood was dripping from his wounds….  So too can we.

So I ask you today to reflect on your hurts, acknowledge them, and begin the healing.  Let go of the pain through forgiveness.

Take a listen to this beautiful little girl singing amazing grace: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDDlxmsciqY

May you be blessed……

If you would like to read more on forgiveness click on the following entry:  http://abeautifullifeministry.org/2013/03/28/dear-vanessa-forgiveness-in-the-difficult/