Last week a wrote about the man that "went off" on me. I was hurt and I was actually even scared. Each morning we gather in our office to pray. We pray for our customers, their businesses, our business and our own personal prayer concerns. I've been praying for this man. Today, God spoke to me again. I was in the front office helping Kimberly when I saw a car drive up. A young man I didn't recognize got out. Very pleasant looking, I started to ask Kimberly if she knew him, but was then distracted back to her question. I felt the presence of someone at the door and looked up as the young man entered the room. He looked around with a lost look in his eye, "Kim?" he questioned as he looked at each of us. I said, I'm Kim. He said, I'm Charlie. I didn't even feel scared after all the anxiousness last week. The girl's on the other hand, didn't know what to do. The phone rang, so I started to take him into the hallway. But the expression on Ashley's face, made me change directions and take him to my office.
I still did not know exactly what he wanted, but I recognized that this was a young man that was hurting. He looked at me very sincerely and apologized. I took his hand and shook it, and told him that I accepted his apology and that it took a big man to admit he was wrong. He had tears in his eyes and he continued to apologize. I patted his hand and repeated that I forgave him. I wanted to hug him but felt that would be inappropriate. He looked so young and vulnerable. I'm sure he is at least in his late 20's but he looks younger. About that time, he grabbed me and hugged me, so I hugged him back. I then felt that I needed to share with him that I had been praying for him. I'm not sure that he really heard me. I did tell him that he had really scared me and that I was so thankful that he had come to apologize. Unfortunately, I could tell that he is very troubled. I will continue to pray for him and ask that you pray for him as well.
That brings me back to forgiveness. Sometimes it is so easy to forgive a stranger, and we find it much harder to forgive our close friends and family. The person I have the hardest time forgiving is myself.
I urge you if you are harboring resentment, hurt feelings, old grudges, whatever it might be, let it go. Forgive the person, forgive yourself and ask God to forgive them and to forgive you. I wish I could say, I did that today and I'm free. Unfortunately I can't, I can say that I forgave Charlie today and that did lighten one of my burdens today. Maybe it's just the small things that bring us down but as we let those go, we will become lighter and lighter.
Ashley, my former co-worker, sent me a very exciting email today. She had asked that we pray for her path to be made clear to go into the ministry. Today, she told us that someone has committed to paying her for the next 3 months so she can pursue God's calling on her life. She wrote something in an email to me today that really made me think:
We are all brothers and sisters. If one of your siblings messes up it's not like they become any less related to you.
God's been changing my heart to be willing to stand on behalf of people that won't stand themselves.
It's the hardest thing, to care more about someone then they care about themselves. But through it the Lord is taking me deeper into His heart, and literally my heart begins to ache when I see someone bound by shame and guilt.
Let's just get over the fact that we sinned and look at Jesus. Because He's trying to get our attention so He can tell us the truth... that we're dark, yet lovely, and we're clean by the blood of the lamb and have been then adopted into the Kingdom as sons and daughters. We're more than conquerers, and we were made for glory.
We can't, through bad works, lose what we could never gain through good works.
It's for by grace we have been saved.
Anyway, Wow. I'll just keep going if I don't stop me.
I love that! WE WERE MADE FOR GLORY!!! Can I get a hallejah or an amen??? I also love that we can't through bad works, lose what we could never gain through good works. That's right no matter what, we aren't good enough but by Jesus's Grace we are saved.
1 comment:
Very inspirational. Loved it!
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