Good Morning,
Saturday sunshine is greeting me today and a hot cup of Door County Bourbon Pecan Pie is assisting in the wake up call on my life.
Last night I received my first mosquito bite of the season and I am reminded of them when I see the welts on my arm. The mosquito bites are a reminder that we certainly don't live in a perfect world. Last night I was speaking with someone I admire for being very truthful. This man is carrying the burden of not being able to fully forgive someone for something in the past.
As a duck hunter, I like to have lots of gear and gadgets with me when I hit the water to pursue the game I love to eat and hunt. In that quest for a duck dinner there are times that I can't hunt from a boat and a walk in the dark, through muddy water is the best option for my pursuit of the elusive quacker. I found out long ago that carrying too much gear can weigh you down and make moving ahead nearly impossible. This mud I speak of we call "Zombie Mud". It is the type of mud that draws you in and tends to cling on to you making a long walk even tougher. It acts like a anchor to hold you in place. I have issued some sharp remarks to that mud as it makes reaching my goal tougher. Getting older doesn't help much either.
What am I trying to say here? Carrying the burden of holding on to an emotional hurt is one like an anchor in zombie mud. It stops you from having a soul free from the chains of "holding a grudge". Partial forgiveness allows for a little freedom, yet the remembrance of the issue will pop into your head and heart at the weirdest times, reminding you of the hurt. It might not be as bad as it was 15 years ago, but it is still there. It is there. It is real. It weighs you down.
God commands us to forgive one another.
Matthew 6:14-15 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 Butt if you do not forgive others of their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you.
He not only commands us to forgive, He sets the example of forgiveness. Each one of our sins big or small was represented on the cross and His Son Jesus died for them all. You could say that we "abused the Son of God". Yet once forgiven of those sins through faith In Jesus Christ we are washed clean and some day upon our death Jesus takes His abuser home to heaven and says, "Hey Dad I brought a family member home". God forgives fully, and even the sinners are not classified as sinners anymore but they are Beloved Family. God shows us that partial forgiving is not good enough. He shows us that in His own actions toward us. God does not carry a grudge and neither should we, if we want to show and experience love like God shows us by example.
John 14:2-3 In My Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so I would have told you; I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you, that where I am you may be also.
Think it through. Why walk in Zombie Mud, carrying the weight of too many things that could be eliminated? My walk through my muddy quest for ducks, has taught me to shed the junk and carry as little as possible so I don't sink.
You can do the same today by letting go and forgiving without holding on to even a little piece of the hurt.
Have a Zombie Mud free day!
Marty
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