Lately, I have been consumed with the topic of forgiveness. I have been consumed with those who have hurt others, hurt things important to me, who go on their merry little way - leaving wreckage behind them. I have found it very difficult to just blow things off - to move on. I suspect many people, I know many people have struggled with forgiveness. This may be the reason why Jesus mentions it so often. This may be why so many things have been written about it.
We've heard the phrase, "still water runs deep." Well, newsflash, I'm still water. Always have been.
Lately, it seems i'm tripping over a lot of still water. It is frustrating, but possibliy a sign of wisdom, not to say to others the things on my mind. Interwoven with these thoughts is the lingering problem of forgiveness. My mind is constantlyi going - trying to figure things out, trying to make things make sense, trying to find light at the end of the tunnel. I'm not being melodramatic or self-centered. I recognize that so many people struggle with these things. I am fortunate to have some ways that I can share my thoughts.
The above photo gives one of the perspectives on meditation. When you meditate, you gradually are seeking a reality of settling, of not being overwhelmed by the noise, and finding peace.
I certainly feel that, since I've retired, I generally have somewhat more peace and less stressthan I lived with for decades. Some things in my world have shattered, for now, these feelings of more peace and less stress.
I come face to face with the requirement of forgiveness if I'm going to have lasting peace. Go back to the quote at the beginning of this post. This is really the key: "Forgiveness prevents their behavior from destroying your heart." This continues to be one of the most compelling reasons for forgiveness.
This approach simply presents self-interest. This is not bad. Self-interest is not wrong. If it gets us closer to Jesus' words on forgiveness, then it can be helpful.
I'll be darned if I'm going to allow some **%%#@@!!** individuals to push me away from God's love and God's ways. Possiblly a more satisfying approach is to scream and shout and hurl epithets and carefully constructed expressions of anger and outrage. I have to reach a calming point where I realize that some people do not deserve the satisfaction of wrecking my inner peace. Let them shout and scream and thinking about kicking little kittens down the stairs. (by the way, this is rhetorical, I'm not going to hurt a kitten - ever!!!!)
I don't want the bad folks to win. I want goodness to win. In my life, that means so much more than all this other stuff.
Pray for me that I can get back on the right path. I'll pray for everyone of you who is strugging with these things as well.
