Teacher Selsa is definitely our oldest member on our leadership team for Mt Moriah Camps. I think it’s nice to have her experience and wisdom on a team that is predominantly under the quarter century mark. We have our weekly prayer meetings every Monday night and she never lacks insight on the topic at hand. She is probably our most devoted worker (always early, always prepared) and she has a heart to see all these children not just hear the words from the Bible, but understand and eventually accept them. Tonight in our meeting, our topic was love in the form of forgiveness.
At my young age, I’ve already experienced tons of times when I’ve been faced with the choice to forgive someone. Every now and then, I make the right choice early, but most of the time I delay it as long as possible. Tonight, Selsa shared some wisdom with us on this topic and opened a door that many of us don’t even understand. None of us knew what it was like to carry a 40 plus year grudge. On top of that, I’ve never experienced carrying something when the person that hurt me is right down the street. Selsa talked to us about how painful it can be to be hurt by someone that you see every day.
Without getting into too many specifics, she told us about some of the thoughts she’s had and how at one time, bitterness was at an all time high. It was at that point where she heard God’s voice the clearest and she knew it was time for her to release that burden. Even though the conversations with this individual haven’t gone as the storybook ending says it should, each time she chooses to forgive this person, she feels much more relieved than she does holding it in. The old saying that I’ve heard my entire life came up again tonight, and no matter how many times I hear it, the truth still hits home. “Bitterness is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die.”
It’s obvious how bitterness and grudges can not only effect us emotionally, but they can do some damage to our physical bodies as well. I had to think into my own life of things that I’ve held against other people and it’s hard for me to forget them. Then the even worse thought came to mind. I thought about the people that I’ve wronged that I need to ask forgiveness from. That’s a humbling thought to let slip in. There are times that I just wish this whole forgiveness thing was easier so we could all live better lives. but unfortunately, keeping us silent is one of the biggest ways Satan attacks us. If he can isolate us and get in our heads, the rest is easy. It’s not always easy as “forgive and forget”, but one conversation can break through years of pain. So go have it…
