Like Drinking Poison

Forgiveness 0

Like drinking poison and hoping someone else would die.  That’s a powerful word picture for what unforgiveness is like in the human heart.  Though it may feel right, though it may seem justified, though it may appear to be the only option available to us, it is destructive and deadly to the one who drinks it.  The very weapon we use to inflict pain on our offender becomes a sword turned inward on ourselves, doing far more damage to us — and to those who love us — than to those who have hurt us.

— Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Choosing Forgiveness:  Your Journey to Freedom, p. 50-51

Freedom in Forgiveness

Forgiveness, Healing 0

When we as God’s children realize that His grace is sufficient for every situation, that by the power of His indwelling Spirit we have the ability to respond with grace and forgiveness to those who have sinned against us — at that point we are no longer victims.  We are free to rise above whatever may have been done to us, to grow through it, and to become instruments of grace, reconciliation, and redemption in the lives of other hurting people and even in the lives of our offenders.

Yes, we can be free — if we choose to be.

— Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Choosing Forgiveness, p. 42

Let me sow love.

Forgiveness, Love 0

You need to realize that when you sow the love of God, you will reap the love of God.  You need to develop faith in this spiritual law — even though you may not harvest it from the field in which you sowed, or as quickly as you would like.

— John Bevere, The Bait of Satan:  Living Free from the Deadly Trap of Offense, p. 14-15

So Different

Forgiveness, Marriage 0

If you’ve got someone who seems opposite to you in almost every respect, you’ve got the right person.  In a sense, your partner is the repository of your rejected strengths.  Forgive your partner and, together, you become whole.

— Hugh Prather, Spiritual Notes to Myself, p. 43

Redemption

Compassion, Core Value, Forgiveness 0

Feeling badly about making a mistake is natural, but punishing yourself forever is never appropriate.

I urge you to fully examine your beliefs about mistakes and forgiveness.  Most people cannot answer this simple question:  “How much penance is appropriate to expunge your mistake?”  I have seen countless people who are continually punishing themselves in an infinite variety of ways because of a perceived transgression in the past.  Holding yourself to a so-called higher standard (others could be forgiven for this, but not me) does not make you a better person.  It only makes you a more miserable person….

It is a choice if you focus on the worst parts of you, rather than the good.  If you are having difficulty, then focus on helping someone in need, rather than wasting your time and effort on chastising yourself.  Do something positive.  Choose to ask for help — from God, your spiritual advisor, or your friends.  Be honest and admit that you are in charge of how you treat yourself, and start treating yourself the way you would a friend.

— Christel Nani, Sacred Choices, p. 230-232

Forgiving Yourself

Forgiveness, Healing, Letting Go, Life 0

To err is human, to forgive is a choice.

The third reason people have difficulty changing a tribal belief is one of the saddest but most firmly held beliefs I have encountered:  Mistakes, transgressions, or sins are not forgivable.…

The worst part about this tribal belief is that because you think you can never be forgiven, you sever your relationship with God or your Higher Power and cut yourself off from receiving divine guidance and recognizing synchronicity at work in your life.

— Christel Nani, Sacred Choices, p. 228

Living in the Present

Forgiveness, Joy, Letting Go 0

However we perceive the past, whether in a positive or a negative light, concentrating on it makes us unhappier in the present.  The past is past.

Through deliberate present-minded focus we can breathe in new life, new positive energy, letting go of the way things were in the past.  When we grow more mindful, we open our hearts to forgiveness and choose not to get bogged down in placing blame or getting even with others.  When we let go of the past, we gain in wisdom.  We feel lighter and brighter, inspired by what we’ve learned, ready to move on.

— Alexandra Stoddard, Choosing Happiness:  Keys to a Joyful Life, p. 14

Redemption

Core Value, Forgiveness, Love 0

Love means the ability to identify with imperfection and to recognize the inadequacies, weaknesses, fears and confusion in ourselves and others.  Loving what is unlovable in them is always a challenge.  It’s so much easier to dismiss people for their failings than it is to stick by them.  I wonder why it is that we are more prone to finding fatal flaws than looking for redeeming qualities?

— Leo Buscaglia, Born for Love, p. 217