A Heart That Lets Go

     December 31, 2009 was the International Day of Forgiveness. I had never heard of this before, but a friend sent an e-mail about it and it really piqued my interest. I posted it as an event in Facebook, because I wanted everyone I knew to participate. It did not require a special meeting place or preparation, only a heart to truly forgive everyone and anyone who had ever done anything to harm us, whether they deserved it or not. Many people responded, some did not, but it didn't matter to me, I knew that I had to take part in this event for myself. I had recently gone through a very difficult season of life and it seemed that most of the people who claimed to be my friends had abandoned me. A few of them actually turned out to be enemies, and one of them even tried to turn my family members against me. I had to make a choice to either return the evil, or completely let it go, so that Day couldn't come quickly enough for me.

    On New Year's Eve, I drove out to Dockweiler Beach, and sat down on a rock with a sheet of paper and a pen. I wrote down the name of every person that I could think of that I needed to truly forgive, and prayed for each one of them. When I finished, I took the list out to the shore, and send it away into the tide. It was so freeing to watch it go out, under the waves. I began to feel sorry for some of the people, because I began to see them as they were; that they really were unable to do any better than what they did. I thanked God for life, health and strength, and asked Him to help me to never do any of those things to anyone else. I found a seashell with holes in it, and put it on my bulletin board to help me remember the day.

     There is a line in the song entitled A Heart That Forgives by Kevin Levar says: " A heart that lets go is a heart that will know so much freedom". I thank the Lord for freedom today, so I can go on with my life. Forgiveness does not change what people have done to us, but it helps us to live our lives to the fullest.

     Be blessed...and forgive.

Thanks to Jeneen Harris for the top photograph...