People often mistake the act of forgiving something as saying what happened was okay. That really isn't the case. Forgiveness means letting go of the hate and anguish we associate with something. In some Bible verses, Jesus cries out as He is being nailed to the Cross, "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do!"
Forgiveness is a big step in healing. Forgiveness is letting go of something. Forgiveness is finding the strength in yourself to grow beyond what happened to you.
Imagine walking around with a bag on your back. People in your life run up and stuff rocks into the bag. Over time it gets heavier and heavier. Pretty soon it's weighing you down. The weight of the bag stays there long after people stopped coming and shoving rocks into it. You go about your life with the weight crushing you, and you look at the burden with bitterness.
I've got news for you: You don't HAVE to keep carrying that bag. You're probably used to having it there so much you forgot about it until it gets jostled. Carrying it takes a lot of energy you could be using for other things.
So drop it and walk onward unhindered.
I know, I know, easier said than done. Letting go of what bullies did to you and forgiving them is hard to do. There's that feeling of, "I hope something really horrible happens to those people for what they did to me!" that sticks around for a long time. I had that for years. Then I heard a song by Linkin Park called Iridescent and it spoke to me. I don't know how or why, but I knew it was time to drop my bag of rocks. I did it when I recorded my cover of that song. To me, it felt like reaching into the bag, taking out each rock individually and hurling them into the ocean. I cast off each burden one at a time until I had none left, and I felt amazing afterward.
YOU will know you've reached forgiveness when you think of your bullies and wish them well.
I hope mine grew up to be better people than they were when I knew them.
When you were standing in the wake of devastation
When you were waiting on the edge of the unknown
And with the cataclysm raining down, insides crying, "Save me now"
You were there, impossibly alone
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go, let it go
And in a burst of light
That blinded every angel
As if the sky had blown
The heavens into stars
You felt the gravity of tempered grace
Falling into empty space
No one there to catch you in their arms
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go, let it go
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go, let it go
Let it go, let it go, let it go
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go, let it go
-- Linkin Park, "Iridescent"
Forgiveness is a big step in healing. Forgiveness is letting go of something. Forgiveness is finding the strength in yourself to grow beyond what happened to you.
Imagine walking around with a bag on your back. People in your life run up and stuff rocks into the bag. Over time it gets heavier and heavier. Pretty soon it's weighing you down. The weight of the bag stays there long after people stopped coming and shoving rocks into it. You go about your life with the weight crushing you, and you look at the burden with bitterness.
I've got news for you: You don't HAVE to keep carrying that bag. You're probably used to having it there so much you forgot about it until it gets jostled. Carrying it takes a lot of energy you could be using for other things.
So drop it and walk onward unhindered.
I know, I know, easier said than done. Letting go of what bullies did to you and forgiving them is hard to do. There's that feeling of, "I hope something really horrible happens to those people for what they did to me!" that sticks around for a long time. I had that for years. Then I heard a song by Linkin Park called Iridescent and it spoke to me. I don't know how or why, but I knew it was time to drop my bag of rocks. I did it when I recorded my cover of that song. To me, it felt like reaching into the bag, taking out each rock individually and hurling them into the ocean. I cast off each burden one at a time until I had none left, and I felt amazing afterward.
YOU will know you've reached forgiveness when you think of your bullies and wish them well.
I hope mine grew up to be better people than they were when I knew them.
When you were standing in the wake of devastation
When you were waiting on the edge of the unknown
And with the cataclysm raining down, insides crying, "Save me now"
You were there, impossibly alone
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go, let it go
And in a burst of light
That blinded every angel
As if the sky had blown
The heavens into stars
You felt the gravity of tempered grace
Falling into empty space
No one there to catch you in their arms
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go, let it go
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go, let it go
Let it go, let it go, let it go
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go, let it go
-- Linkin Park, "Iridescent"
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