Everyone forgives, albeit posthumously...

Sometimes I feel that individuals keep trying to fix something without knowing the root cause of the problem. I know for a fact that I have done this myself on many occasions and as a human on this earth will likely fall victim to this very act again. For, example a lack of feelings of self-worth, belonging, [insert your own personal struggle here], etc. Below is a great example found in an excerpt from a sermon taught by Matt Chandler of The Village Church.

"Recovering sight is what Jesus is going to bring in the gospel. I don't know that you can get through life without being hurt and wounded by something. You know, daddy didn't hug you well enough. And it's really not your daddy's fault. Dr. Hannah was here this week for a pastor's conference. He told a great story about his wife when she was sixteen—mowed the lawn, trying to surprise her daddy, and she left this one little strip undone. And when her daddy got home, he re-mowed the whole lawn. But he was a very loving man and loved her and encouraged her, but in that one instant, the devil grabbed that, just grabbed that; and now she can't do it well enough. Just that one little thing, despite all this evidence to the contrary. So getting hurt, and getting wounded—it messes up your sight so you can't see. So then what ends up happening is you don't want to forgive because if you forgive, you're going to let them off the hook. And you can't let them off the hook—never being able to see that the only one you're really hurting is you. Or getting bitter and angry and wanting vengeance, never being able to see that the only soul that's being tore up is yours. And so Jesus goes on and on—“I'm going to give you eyes to see.”"

As you can see that one event was used to cause years of painful memories and false perceptions of not being able to do things well enough or up to high standards. So be sure to be aware of your actions and more importantly your words. Our words carry power that is so much more than we can comprehend. Our actions too carry power and even our eyes hold great power. When you speak to others speak with intentionality to their hearts with positive and encouraging words.


P.S. - I just finished going through some of my older posts from 2008 and even in my writing (and obviously those posts triggering memories of that time) I have grown so much as a person in the last two years it is incredible. It just goes to show the process is in full effect.