This is a short story about a very bitter lady who learned forgiveness. Her name has been changed to protect her privacy.
Gina was angry, and rightfully so. Forgiveness was far from her thoughts. Life had stolen all from her. People had lied about her, ruined her reputation, she had been abused mentally and sexually in her earlier years, and siblings’ rivalry wounded her up and tied her in chains. People even passed rumors that she was mentally unstable and the crowd gulped it up and stepped away from her daintily.
In her pain and loneliness, she stood alone. She cried herself to sleep many nights. Hope was gone washed down a dirty drain. Then one night, as she was weeping, she seemed to hear a calm Voice speak deep within her. Warm and strong. A Voice that could break stones. A Voice that sounded like the rushing of the purest waters.
That wonderful calming Voice said, “Don’t cry my child, these are tears of hurt and buried anger. Release it!” With those words seeping into her soul, a sweet peace draped Gina like a blanket and she slept like a baby.
Early the next morning, when golden rays of dawn danced on her face, she awoke, warm and peaceful. She remembered that wonderful Voice that told her “These are tears of hurt and buried anger, release it!”
“But how?” thought Gina wonderingly. How do we release hurt, how do we release anger?
A realization dawned on Gina slowly. Forgiveness is a spiritual transaction. We cannot do it naturally. It starts with a step toward going to the greatest power of Love on Earth: Divine Love. Gina had to go to God and ask for that power to forgive. The God of mercy.
She prayed and asked and pleaded. Nothing happened for a few weeks because anger kept coming back but Gina did not give up. She continued with dogged determination.
Her soul had rooms filled with cobwebs of unforgiveness, cluttered with pain and agony seething in the fruits of bitterness. She had to forgive those who hurt her and then only. Those cobwebs and the dust of unforgiveness would be washed right out of her soul!
One silver dawn, Gina got up. “This is the day”, she felt something different. Something welled up inside Gina and she suddenly started to weep, weep tears of joy because something had flown out of her, that bitterness, black grudges, and internal seething anger.
Suddenly she felt a love she never experienced before. The names and faces of the ones who hurt Gina began to rise before her. She wrote those names in a piece and paper and prayed before each name saying “I forgive you all.”
After this, Gina burned that piece of paper and for the first time in years, Gina felt free.
In time a miracle happened. Gina started to change, become joyous, and drew people to her. It was the Presence of Love in her life.
Then another miracle happened. Some of her offenders started to become actually “nice” to her. They never actually apologized, but became “nicer.” Gina was so full and complete in herself and in Divine Love that she never expected an apology.
Gina learned a powerful secret during that season and for the rest of her life. In the Road of Forgiveness, the Power of the Law of Love reigns, and the Rule of the Kingdom of Darkness has to depart when we practice this. In forgiveness and love, we gain dividends of joy and peace in a victorious new life!
Gina’s chains were broken. She was free at last!