Don't Be Immobilized With Unforgiveness

Coming from a basketball game, I went for a swim yesterday during our Home office summer outing. In the middle of a freestyle lap, i had a bad cramp on both of my feet. Good thing I was near the sides and I was able to pull myself to safety...whew! The cramp immobilized me and it could have possibly put me in serious danger.

What are the things in life that immobilize us? Are there issues in the past or decisions at present that prevent us from moving on with our lives? Even at the middle of the 'laps' that we make in our work, in our family life, or in school, there are unresolved issues that we have to face that may give us a 'bad cramp' and hinder us from progressing. Bo Sanchez wrote the book, "Your Past Does Not Define Your Future." What the book title suggests is very true, but most often we recall all our failures and our sins, and allow them to bring us down and rob us of our hope for the future. What we need to do is to face our unresolved issues, specially in the area of unforgiveness.

We come before the Lord and ask the Holy Spirit to be upon us and decide to ask forgiveness from God. "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most (Hebrews 4:16)." Allow God's grace to give us a change of heart and mind, a metanoia. Go to a priest for confession, and be sincere in doing the penance. With this, decide to forgive yourself. I know of many people who hate themselves. It is easy for them to forgive others but they cannot forgive themselves. If He who is God can forgive us, then we who are not greater than God should learn to forgive ourselves. If we have offended others, let us sincerely apologize and ask forgiveness. If the sin against someone is grave, do not expect that person to be instantly healed and forgive you right away. Healing takes time, and by faith the other person will be able to forgive. But for those who do not intend to forgive, great is their burden. Patrick Conaty writes, "Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping the offender will get sick from it. The reality is it is making you sick and begins a slow death to those who will not release it." If there is unforgiveness in our hearts, let us start by deciding to forgive even if we do not feel that way yet. Healing comes when we decide to forgive, not the other way around.

May we be relieved from the things that immobilize us. Let God's love and mercy release us from the 'bad cramp' that stops us from growing closer to Him. May we continue to move forward and finish what God has intended for us to accomplish here on earth.