One thing that this week has proved to me is that all of us can get hurt as we go through life. Each of us fight some sort of battle every day. Not one of us is immune; however each of us can hurt differently as our particular strengths and weaknesses differ...
However, we simply prolong any pain that we suffer if we find it hard to let go of these 'hurts', to forgive, to move on...
It's incredible how long we can hold on to something so painful! Teachers that we are still bitter about, years after leaving school... work colleagues from decades ago who remain in control of you because of bullying tactics of the past... family members who still have a strong grip on your feelings, even though they are no longer around...
On many occasions we may be the only one that remembers the incident, keeping it alive; therefore only we have the choice as to whether to continue carrying these burdens, these grudges.
If we hold these past hurts close to us, we keep others at a distance... our loved ones, our friends. Even the Almighty Himself...
So, the first thing I need to do to deal with my pain is to acknowledge I've been hurt. Is that tough? It could well be. God revealed to me recently that there are some unresolved hurts in my past. Things that happened to me that I didn't complain about but simply hid. I put a brave face on it but cannot do this any more. Glib phrases like "Big boys and girls don't cry" simply don't work any more. And running away from the pain does not solve the problem.
In Bible study this week we were reminded that Jesus instructed us to "Pick up your cross and follow me." These hurts are crosses to pick up, to face and to embrace. Because if we can't face facts that we have been 'wounded' and take time to heal (with the help of The Great Physician), how are we going to deal with the next hurdle...
... forgiving the person who did this?
More later - as I work this through...
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