Forgiveness.

What emotions do you feel when you come across the word forgiveness?  Be honest.  Do you feel joy, happiness, peace or love?  Probably not.  Or, do you feel a grip taking hold of your heart, a queasiness in your stomach, or perhaps feelings of anger, betrayal, shame or hurt as you think about the incident that broke you.  For many of us, the answer is yes.

The act of forgiving is very difficult.  We are spiritual souls living an earthly experience.  Forgiving someone does not necessarily mean making amends with the person that hurt you.  The most important reconciliation is with yourself first.  By this I mean, being able to make peace with the hurtful event to find resolution so that you can move forward and let go of the pain.

Sounds easy, but it’s not.  Forgiving someone is not something that can happen overnight and you are done.  It can take days, months and years to forgive.  I don’t have all the answers, but I do have some insight to share that you may find helpful in your own journey to forgiveness.

Acknowledge your feelings.  Whatever emotion you are feeling (revenge, shame, embarrassment, anger, etc.), feel it. Get it out of your system.  You can do this by talking to a friend, counselor or God.  I spent a lot of time crying with God, and when I was done with that, I took my anger out on Him.  Trust me.  God can handle it, and He loves you unconditionally.  He will help you through it.

Forgive yourself.  You are human.  It’s okay.  What someone did to you is not a fault of you, but rather the fault of the person who hurt you.  Don’t think about the “what if’s” or “what you could have done differently.”  These phrases keep you from moving forward and stuck in agony.

We are human.  Forgiveness is not about forgiving the act done to you.  It’s about forgiving the imperfect person.  As humans, we are all imperfect beings.  We make mistakes.  Sometimes we are aware of the mistakes, and sometimes not. Try to look at the person with eyes of compassion. I have to remind myself that the person who hurt me is a child of God too.

Seek help through prayer.  God hears and answers your prayers.  All of them.  When we do not have the strength to pray, Jesus intercedes and prays for us.  Knowing this helped me through some really difficult times when I had nothing left to say.

It takes time.  Don’t be hard on yourself if your journey to forgiveness is taking longer than you would like.  God knows your heart.  Ask for His help.  He yearns to help you.  He wants to restore you.  Let God transform you and fill you with His peace and love.

Don’t give up.  If you are not seeing or feeling any progress, it can be very easy to give up.  Please don’t.  Your hard work will pay off.  You will feel a lightness in your soul, a renewing of your mind and the peace of the Spirit inside.

In time and in your own speed, you will find the capacity to forgive those who have done you harm. It is possible to discover forgiveness as an expression of an open heart.

I leave you with this quote from S. McNutt:

“Fall in love with taking care of yourself.  Fall in love with the path of deep healing.  Fall in love with becoming the best version of yourself, but with patience, with compassion and respect to your own journey.”

With love and peace—
Jody

I have struggled with weight issues my entire life. I have tried every diet on the market.
I joined countless gyms, and even hired a personal trainer. You name it–I have done it.
Sometimes there was short-term success, but I never found the long-term, sustained
success for which I was longing. I have always been a healthy eater and vegetables
and fruit were always a part of my diet. I did struggle with portion control and used food
as a source of comfort for dealing with pain or happiness. My soul is sensitive, and I
would get hurt by the actions of others whether they knew they had hurt me or not. At a
young age, I took that hurt and started building that steel armor around my heart. I
stuffed that pain away. I didn’t know how to deal with the pain, so I slowly began
hardening my heart to deal with the pain. I had built a fortress around my heart that no
one could penetrate.

Then one day, I was spiritually guided to see an energy healer. I had no idea what that
meant. I couldn’t even conceptualize it. I recall asking if the healer believed in God, as
I was concerned about what I may be getting into. I did believe, and this was important
to me.

I decided to give it a try, and I found on my first meeting with her that she did believe.
There were signs everywhere of her belief. In fact, what I found the most comforting
were her blue eyes. I saw God in her, and that put me at ease. What began next was a
journey of releasing all that hurt I had stuffed.

Unbeknownst to me, as I worked on dealing with the hurt, the weight started to slowly
come off. I wasn’t paying attention as I was focused on releasing the hurt and pain. My
clothes still fit so I continued wearing them. Then one day I was invited to dinner with
dear friends. Their son saw me and did a double take. I remember him saying, “Wow!
You look great. How much weight have you lost?” I was shocked, surprised and thrilled
all at the same time. I went home that night and pulled down containers of clothes I
hadn’t worn in years. I was thrilled!! They fit!!

I remember jumping around my bedroom with excitement and praise to God for helping
me.

I pray that my story speaks to you in some way whether through your own weight
struggles or through a different health issue you are facing. There is another avenue. If
you are seeking something more, then I encourage you to go deep within and connect
with that still small voice for guidance. With God, all things are possible. I am a
miracle, and so are you.

Come and start your journey of healing at Amazing Grace. All are welcome!

Jody Lynn