Forgiveness is a path and it begins in a cage. The cage that
you are in. The cage that maybe somebody put you in against your will. A cage
of extreme pain, lined with hurt, anger, depression, fear, inability to trust
and memories that are so all consuming that they fill up all of the present.
There is a door to the cage and that door is not locked. It
may appear so, but that is only your perception telling you that there’s no way
out. There is a way out and it begins with a step. Your step. Having the
courage to step through that door and onto the path of forgiveness.
The door is open. The steps are yours to take. It may begin
with a deep breath or a prayer.
Step on to the path and see what is ahead. It may be
indistinct, a mere blur on a faraway horizon, but it’s there. A land of peace.
A place of freedom. A place where you can smile.
First steps. You are moving. You are reclaiming yourself.
Look around you. There is beauty. There is goodness. There
is hope.
Most of all, on the path you’re on, there is time. Time will
be a healer and a friend.
There are other friends who will walk alongside, some for a
short time, some for as long as it takes. Counsellors, friends, pastors and those who
have experienced other cages.
Rediscover your faith. The One who asks you to walk this
path of forgiveness is the One who will never leave you.
You may feel at times that you are right back in that cage.
The memories crowd in. The anger and shame and pain resurface. You may have
stepped back towards that cage and those things are real again. But you’re not
back there. You have moved forward. They don’t own you as much as they did. You
have claimed what you’ve discovered along the way- strength, hope, love. They
are drawing you onwards.
You are fighting back. Not with the evils that put you in
that place but with stronger weapons- faith, love, hope, beauty, persistence,
honesty, grace.
Step by step and as time passes, as you move along that path
you will be able to look back differently. Nothing in the cage has changed, but
you have. You are farther away. You have discarded old shoes and put on new
ones.
Your thoughts have changed. The thought that you would never be able to
move past the words and experiences that played over and over in your head was
one big lie. The God of truth fights for you like a lion. He carries you away from
death-like clutches.
You can remember dispassionately. You may always remember,
but memories no longer have any control over you. Forgiveness is letting go of
your right for recompense. It is letting go of any expectation of rectification
from the one/s who hurt you. It is leaving them where they always have been- in
the hands of a just God.
You are entering a place of rest and freedom, a place where
you can be the person that you were created to be, where you can be loving,
kind, creative, intelligent, happy, faithful and filled with the love of your
Creator. The name of this place is The Rest of Your Life.
Sometimes in the rest of your life you will see another path
with a lone person struggling to find their way forward. This is an opportunity to take their hand and walk with them awhile.
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?”Jesus answered, “I
tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!… Matthew 18:21,22
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Philippians 4:8
Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.” Romans 12:19
