It's a Choice!

By Dianne Sackrider

I know we have all been hurt by someone. It’s inevitable.  I’ve not met a single person that doesn’t have a story of being hurt by someone they trusted.  Recently, I was hurt by people who I thought had my back.  I would never have dreamed I would find myself hurt by those I counted as my closest allies.

I knew God wanted me to forgive them and I knew that letting it go and extending forgiveness to them was the only way I would be set free from the bondage of offense, but knowing it and doing it are not the same thing.

I must confess that I did not readily extend forgiveness.  I had been betrayed and that cut was DEEP.  I went through a gamete of emotions.  I tried to make sense of it, but in all honesty, I don’t think it will ever make sense to me.  But that’s okay.  God knows and He understood what I was feeling.  I knew if I was going to move past the hurt, I was going to have to start praying for those who had hurt me.  It wasn’t easy, and in the beginning it didn’t feel good, but prayer was the only way to release forgiveness.  I chose to forgive.

But then I realized I had another hurdle to overcome.  TRUST. 

Oh no, not another battle.  Uggh.

Even though I had extended forgiveness to those who had hurt me, I realized that I was keeping others at arm’s length.  It wasn’t intentional.  I guess it was just a protection for my heart, but isolation is a lonely place to be and I didn’t like it!  Once again, I found that I had another decision to make.  Was I going to allow what had happened to me to set the tone for the rest of my life?  NO WAY!  So, I began to ask God to help me trust again.   Another process to walk through, but at least I was moving forward.  I chose to trust.

Our lives are a work in progress.  Every day we are faced with decisions to move forward or to remain stuck.  Let’s face it.  We will continue to be hurt by people.  But it’s what we do with the hurt that matters to God. 

I choose to move forward!