Welcome back!
The next thing we need to do is deal with the hardship that has come our way. This is especially difficult if we’ve been betrayed or violated in some way. But the truth is, as unfair as it is, it’s up to us to overcome the effects of the harm that was done. Waiting around for an amends condemns us to a life lived at the mercy of those who hurt us in the first place. Waiting around for someone else to take responsibility for cleaning up the mess we had nothing to do with is equally ineffective. Some people dig themselves into an endless rut by trying to insist someone else fix things for them because they perceive that’s the way it should be. This dynamic becomes a driving force of their life, like a layer of dirt on a window, and it impairs their vision. They are vigilant for signs someone is doing them wrong again, and they end up creating conflict for themselves where it otherwise wouldn’t exist. When a person is keeping a running tally of slights, injustices, and grievances, it is impossible for them to focus on their destiny.
Until a person is willing to deal with reality as it is, they will stay stuck, possibly for life. Letting go of the past really is that important. No it isn’t right that perpetrators rob people of their safety, but for every day we stay broken, we allow the bad guys to win by letting them steal the present day as well. Being victimized wasn’t our fault. We didn’t cause it, we didn’t choose it. But for every day we don’t work on moving forward, we choose to allow the damage to grow in our life. This is the time when that first defiant blade of grass has to shove its way upwards, and refuse to stay trapped under the ashes. Staying broken really isn’t an option. Neither is revenge. That’s God’s jurisdiction, not ours. The best revenge we can have for the wrong that’s been done to us is living such an amazing life that it stuns our adversaries and lifts us far above the plane they reside on.
Until next time, I’ll be praying for you to release yourself from the clutches of what others have done to you, and move forward.