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Letting Go of the Past
by Corrallie Thornton
Be kind and
compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ in God
forgave you. - Ephesians 4:32
Holding a grudge is a very dangerous thing to do. It not only destroys lives,
but also makes people very bitter and angry. Holding a grudge is the exact
same thing as living in unforgiveness.
I know from experience that this is not a nice way to live. I spent many of
my teenage years hating the world. I was displeased with everything and
everyone in it. I had been hurt in my childhood, and I had carried these
hurts on into my teenage years. I had held a grudge for so long, that I
could not remember a time when I had not been this way. I was bitter,
cynical, judgmental, and unforgiving. So as a result of this, I was also
dealing with depression.
But what a freedom it is to know the forgiveness of God! To know that I have
been forgiven, and that I can now forgive others, just as I have been
forgiven. I was leading a miserable life up until a few years ago. That was
when I made a decision to go on with God. When I say made a decision, I mean
it. I dug both heels in and told the devil I wasn't going to let him do this
to me anymore. I was going to grow in God, and there wasn't anything he
could do about it.
That decision was one of the best decisions of my life. About six months
after this, I noticed things beginning to change. My attitudes towards life
began to change. God began to work in me, and He hasn't stopped since that
day. He began to pull out those roots of bitterness, resentment, and years
of unforgiveness. I can tell you that hurt very much. But as God began to
work in me more and more, gradually it began to hurt less and less. Now, it
is nothing compared to what it was two years ago, but I am still a work in
progress.
I was a very bitter, unforgiving person who held very long grudges. But one
thing that God has taught me is that I was the only one who was being hurt
by it. The person who had hurt me had long since forgotten what had
happened, while I was still living in it years later. I spent years in
'emotional agony' simply because I was holding a grudge against someone.
Make a decision to let go of your grudges, and let God take care of them.
It's only going to hurt you if you hold on to them, and that's the truth.
You can't do anything about what they did to you, except to forgive them and
move on. If you don't, you will never move on and you will never go
spiritually. Take it from someone who knows from experience. Let go of your
grudges; it will save you years of agony!
Corallie Thornton
Article is the property of Corallie Thornton
and cannot be used without permission. Copyright 2003.
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