Life Lessons
To be honest- there have been many times in my life when I have tried things on my own (w/o God's help), that seems to be a hard lesson to learn! :) But, one that was esp. challenging was really quite some time ago. Actually, this one instance covers both times the Sonya asks us to tell about- a time w/o God's help, and a time with and the various results:
There were some very difficult family situations that really tore my family apart, and created mountains of unforgiveness, mistrust, and not to mention hurt feelings. I was in high school at the time, and was trying to be "adult" about it, and knew that God needed me to forgive, and set the standard for the rest of my family to follow suit. I tried for months to do this on my own accord, but was failing miserably. To a point where I was really being torn up inside, and it was affecting my life around me- school, friends, athletics, and my relationship with Christ, not to mention my relationship with my family!
Finally, after one long night of battling with God about "letting go, and letting God", I finally gave up and asked God to help me forgive. Almost immediately I felt a release, followed my immense peace and then I felt all my joy return to my soul. It had been on a choir tour back east, and I was asked to share this testimony at church upon our return. It meant sharing in front of the same family members who were not yet allowing forgiveness, and that was scary, but WITH GOD'S HELP I did so. The result was incredible, the forgiveness process started that night in everyone else's hearts and our family unit was able to move on in such an incredible way! Also, my testimony was used to help spur this on in other's who were dealing with unforgiveness, and they came to me later to explain what that meant to them.
That was such a powerful life lesson for me, and I treasure that experience in my heart to this day. Although as an "adult" I have faced much more difficult things, this experience really helped shape me and even now I use that memory to try to rely on God now, and not be so "independent'.
There were some very difficult family situations that really tore my family apart, and created mountains of unforgiveness, mistrust, and not to mention hurt feelings. I was in high school at the time, and was trying to be "adult" about it, and knew that God needed me to forgive, and set the standard for the rest of my family to follow suit. I tried for months to do this on my own accord, but was failing miserably. To a point where I was really being torn up inside, and it was affecting my life around me- school, friends, athletics, and my relationship with Christ, not to mention my relationship with my family!
Finally, after one long night of battling with God about "letting go, and letting God", I finally gave up and asked God to help me forgive. Almost immediately I felt a release, followed my immense peace and then I felt all my joy return to my soul. It had been on a choir tour back east, and I was asked to share this testimony at church upon our return. It meant sharing in front of the same family members who were not yet allowing forgiveness, and that was scary, but WITH GOD'S HELP I did so. The result was incredible, the forgiveness process started that night in everyone else's hearts and our family unit was able to move on in such an incredible way! Also, my testimony was used to help spur this on in other's who were dealing with unforgiveness, and they came to me later to explain what that meant to them.
That was such a powerful life lesson for me, and I treasure that experience in my heart to this day. Although as an "adult" I have faced much more difficult things, this experience really helped shape me and even now I use that memory to try to rely on God now, and not be so "independent'.
posted by Amy B | 10:46 PM
1 Comments:
Thanks for posting. What an opportunity-not only for you to trust in God for forgiveness, but to lead others to that same place. Who knows what kind of chain reaction this has caused.
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