The Power of Forgiveness (1 Viewer)

[ProStockJunkie]

The power of forgiveness
+++++++++++++++++++

Inflicting pain on someone else cannot do anything to ease
your own pain. When you have been hurt, there is nothing to
be gained by passing the hurt on to another.

When others have caused you pain, give forgiveness. Sincere
forgiveness is the fastest way to begin moving positively
forward again.

Forgiveness does not mean that you agree with or condone
whatever has been done. It means that you no longer choose
to let those past actions hold you back.

Your willingness to forgive does not mean that you are
willing to be hurt again. In fact, forgiveness frees you to
take positive steps that will make you stronger and much
less vulnerable.

When you feel the desire for revenge, stop and remind
yourself that there is a much more powerful response.
Forgiveness is the way to put yourself in the best possible
position.

Can you find the strength to forgive? Forgive, and you will
surely grow stronger.

Ralph Marston

 

[.]

blah...I'm not feeling it.

 

[rollemup]

..............hey Jackee, your signature showed up

 

[willy]

blah...I'm not feeling it.

Jeeez, Brent..why don't you just bypass the Thread instead of contaminating it..what? You have a hair on your butt for Jackee?..Does she own a Canon?

She just posted some fairly good vibes to go by didn't she?

I always looked forward to your posts as a nice slant to the usual here..but that is basically uncalled for..oh..and I will not debate you on THAT!!

Pfft

You should apologize.

 

[Jenn]

"I worry about fast forgivers. They tend to forgive quickly in order to avoid their pain. Or they forgive fast in order to get an advantage over the people they forgive. And their instant forgiving only makes things worse...People who have been wronged badly and wounded deeply should give themselves time and space before they forgive...There is a right moment to forgive. We cannot predict it in advance; we can only get ourselves ready for it when it arrives...Don't do it quickly, but don't wait too long...If we wait too long to forgive, our rage settles in and claims squatter's rights to our souls."

Lewis B. Smedes -

 

["Dr. Dirt"]

Thanks Jackee,
I suppose Brent's avatar must've been taken with a Canon camera or some other thorn producing event has happened. He'll be back on the good side as strong as ever soon enough. Oh Brent, we forgive you.

I read somewhere "I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive but of you, it is required to forgive all men." I'll go with that philosophy to shoot for.

 

[willy]

Jenn..thanks for posting that.

That's good stuff! Nice perspective on the original..

 

[ProStockJunkie]

Oh Brent, we forgive you.

Yeah, me too Brent.

 

[ProStockJunkie]

Jeeez, Brent..why don't you just bypass the Thread instead of contaminating it..what? You have a hair on your butt for Jackee?..Does she own a Canon?

She just posted some fairly good vibes to go by didn't she?

I always looked forward to your posts as a nice slant to the usual here..but that is basically uncalled for..oh..and I will not debate you on THAT!!

Pfft

Thanks for the support David.

 

[ProStockJunkie]

I wrote what, in my opinion, was the best article of my life. The title was, "Unforgiveness destroys the vessel in which it is kept."

It appeared in a Delaware newspaper in March of 1993. It had nothing to do with drag racing or religion. Only the reality of that headline, applied to a real life situation.

Whether or not we choose to give forgiveness or allow ourselves to 'feel' it, as Brent so eloquently put it, is up to us. We will reap the consequences of whatever that decision is.

 

[ProStockJunkie]

..............hey Jackee, your signature showed up

Yeah Steve. I guess it only shows up in our first post in a thread. Didn't realize that.

 

[ProStockJunkie]

I read somewhere "I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive but of you, it is required to forgive all men." I'll go with that philosophy to shoot for.

and then there are these......

"Forgive us for the wrong things that we do. Other people do wrong things to us. But we know that we also must forgive those wrong things.

Forgive people when they do wrong things to you. If you forgive them, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive them, your Father will not forgive you.”

Matthew 6:12 and Matthew 6:14-15

 

["Dr. Dirt"]

And then the poet/songwriter wrote:

"If you keep carrying that anger, it'll eat you up inside . . ."

Don Henley/Heart of the Matter

It's just a vital principal to live by and it may be way more about us than the offender. Again, great post Jackee!

 

[Bullard Anderson]

Great words. Very, very true. I just thought it deserved to be back on page 1 list for a few days.

 

[ProStockJunkie]

"I worry about fast forgivers. They tend to forgive quickly in order to avoid their pain. Or they forgive fast in order to get an advantage over the people they forgive. And their instant forgiving only makes things worse...People who have been wronged badly and wounded deeply should give themselves time and space before they forgive...There is a right moment to forgive. We cannot predict it in advance; we can only get ourselves ready for it when it arrives...Don't do it quickly, but don't wait too long...If we wait too long to forgive, our rage settles in and claims squatter's rights to our souls."

Lewis B. Smedes -

Forgiveness is a choice and it can be made whenever the person hurt, is ready to give it. Unforgiveness only destroys the vessel in which it is kept.
The more times a person has had an opportunity to forgive, it sometimes becomes easier. I say 'sometimes'.

I have chosen to forgive as soon as someone does something against me. That is because I understand that this what God expects from His children. I was going along pretty well in this regard... even putting into practice what I firmly believe... "It's not about you/them/him/her did to me. It's about me and how I react to it." The only person on the planet over whom we havce any control, is ourselves. I guess I was taking my 'victory' in this area for granted because I got knocked on my fanny in my last months as a Mars Associate. I was treated horribly by a couple of people in my own department, and an emotion quite unknown to me surfaced. Hate. I 'hated' one person in particular for the hateful and mean spirited and disrespectful way she treated me. I surprised myself, and not in a good way. And I resented that this person was allowed to do it by a new manager. (Someone hired from the outside of Mars) I knew I had to forgive them.... truth be told, I did not WANT to forgive them.. and goodness knows, I KNOW BETTER then that. I would say the words, because I knew it was wrong to hate and not forgive, but my heart wasn't in it. I also know that each of us will reap as we have sown. Normally, when I see folks setting themselves up for some painful reaping, I am filled with compassion for them, even if their sowing is detrimental to me. Not this time... I WANTED them to painfully reap what they were sowing because they were hurting me so badly. That is NOT the person I am today, but frankly, I didn't even care that I was feeling these negative things. Thankfully, I have many Christian friends who prayed me through this period of rebellion. Don't know if just "doing it" in spite of my feelings, helped the forgivenes to come, or if being out of that environment helped, but the fact is that I have now forgiven those involved with making my last months as a Mars associate so painful. I never understood what their point was anyway. My job was outsourced and I was on my way to 'retirement'.

On the other side of that coin is an entire department that got together to buy me a new Dell Lap Top, so I could keep in touch. In the end, I know that I have something that the people involved with making me miserable will never have. The respect and affection of the vast majority or people at my job. I am blessed in that I had/have the respect of senior management as well as our facilities personnel. I DO keep in touch with my former associates.

 

[ProStockJunkie]

I suppose Brent's avatar must've been taken with a Canon camera or some other thorn producing event has happened.

Not sure what the make of camera has to do with it but I shoot with a Minolta. Have I made it worse?

 

[ProStockJunkie]

.......and it may be way more about us than the offender. Again, great post Jackee!

Absolutely.....Goes along with 'it's not about you and what you do to me, it's about me and how I react to it." Easy words to say or write, tough to put into practice sometimes. Once we realize that the only person on Earth we have any control over is ourselves, we can begin to practice this.

 

[Sue]

Jackee,
That is very good. I would like to keep a copy of that. I have a family member That could your it.