Practicing Forgiveness
In life, there is a lot of trial and error in decision-making. Mistakes are inevitable.
Replaying negative and painful events from the past only serves to retraumatize you. This is how we end up with a mounting list of regrets. It’s how we get stay stuck.
Are you ready to get unstuck? Start by rewriting the script—what you are telling yourself and others.
It is not easy to try to erase the past, nor to wipe away the lost years that have accrued under the weight of the guilt and shame and blaming others, but it can be done. It’s easier than you think. Forgiveness is the starting point.
Are you ready to forgive yourself for the containment of the stories, experiences, and negative thought programs that have changed you?
Ready to forgive yourself for turning your powers over to others by blaming?
Ready to forgive yourself for all the lost years?
Ready to forgive yourself for all the parenting mistakes?
Ready to forgive yourself for the missed opportunities brought on many years of overthinking, worry, and indecision?
Ready to forgive yourself for self-rejecting?
How do you forgive yourself? By first being forgiven. Christ died on the cross for our sins. For an entire day He hung, suffocating to death so that we could be eternally saved from sin. He did this because He knew we need a Savior—someone to save us from ourselves. If Jesus can forgive you, you must forgive yourself. No sin is too big for Him to wash away.
Recognizing that you are created as a spiritual being and that your identity doesn’t come from your past or even those who raised you, but rather comes from your Creator, will set you free. That is because we are each born with a Christlike identity. One that craves meaning and purpose. Without God in the backdrop of our lives, there is very little meaning and no way to truly forgive or extend grace to ourselves or others.
If you are not a Christian and want to become one, simply pray this prayer. “Dear God, I know I have sinned. I am filled with regret and remorse for what I’ve done to myself and others. I ask you to forgive me. Please, come into my heart and save me from myself. I ask you to take away my guilt and restore my joy. Help clear a path to those who can help me in my journey of healing and restoration. Thank you. In Jesus’s name I pray, Amen.”
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”(Galatians 2:20 NIV).
