Well- There It Is!
Hi friends!
So, my good friend Blake is studying to be a preacher, and last night a few of us drove out to a small town church were he had the opportunity to be their guest speaker.
We were all excited for him, and his whole support network was there! That's right, mom, dad, friends from church, friends from school, local mentors... all in the seats of this itsy bitsy church. We were all itching to hear what was going to be said that night, but I had no idea what was coming.
But, you need to know some background first.
On the way over to this twenty-minute-away church, I carpooled with my friend Brooke. Two things you need to know about Brooke for this story: 1)she is one of my best friends and accountability partners in this rockin' season of life, and 2) it was her birthday. Ok, so you didn't need to know it was her birthday, but I wanted to share that! Happy Birthday Brookie!!
Back to the story... So Brooke and I are carpooling, and of course we talk about everything on our minds. And, being the great friend and accountability partner she is, she asked about the text I had sent her earlier. I had asked her if she would join me in prayer over a difficult issue I had been wrestling with. I told her that the situation was a recurring one, and dealt with some bitterness towards someone that I had been harboring. I shared that this bitterness I was dealing with... I didn't know quite how it got there, but I knew it was consuming me and causing me a lot of stress, angst, and frustration. "I just don't want to live like this or with this anymore!" I told her, "And I don't know what to do about it." She reminded me that prayer was the best start to going about this issue if I wanted a resolution.
Right about then we pulled into the church parking lot to hear Blake preach.
While there were many good points, and the sermon was delivered so well, what stuck to me most was when Blake said, "Offense cuts us off from God."
I thought I didn't know why I was harboring bitterness, but I was holding offense against this person that I was bitter with. In my notes, I wrote, "This is what has been wrong. I can fast and cry out to God with my frustrations and try to make amends on my own, but go ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE IF I AM HARBORING OFFENSE. I can't forgive, and I can't move on."
He also said, "Don't step into someone else's unforgiveness, step into the Lord's forgiveness."
Brooke had been nudging me the whole time, knowing just as much as I knew that this was exactly what I needed to hear.
Deep down, I knew I was bitter because I felt hurt, offended, and on top of that- incapable of connecting with God. These issues were connected! I couldn't connect because my heart was not right and not ready to- my offenses were more of a god to me than the One True God.
I stepped back into Brooke's car after we had congratulated Blake and chatted with the church folk. And I said, "Well- there it is! There is my answer." God answered my plea to know why I was bitter and what direction I needed to take that pain and that problem. It was to Him. I needed to make my new direction and my new focal point the Lord's forgiveness.
Thank you for reading my story! This is all 100% of my real life, and I hope it can encourage and uplift your hearts. My prayer for you today is that you would strive in the Lord's forgiveness!
Best to you,
Mel xoxo
So, my good friend Blake is studying to be a preacher, and last night a few of us drove out to a small town church were he had the opportunity to be their guest speaker.
We were all excited for him, and his whole support network was there! That's right, mom, dad, friends from church, friends from school, local mentors... all in the seats of this itsy bitsy church. We were all itching to hear what was going to be said that night, but I had no idea what was coming.
But, you need to know some background first.
On the way over to this twenty-minute-away church, I carpooled with my friend Brooke. Two things you need to know about Brooke for this story: 1)she is one of my best friends and accountability partners in this rockin' season of life, and 2) it was her birthday. Ok, so you didn't need to know it was her birthday, but I wanted to share that! Happy Birthday Brookie!!
Back to the story... So Brooke and I are carpooling, and of course we talk about everything on our minds. And, being the great friend and accountability partner she is, she asked about the text I had sent her earlier. I had asked her if she would join me in prayer over a difficult issue I had been wrestling with. I told her that the situation was a recurring one, and dealt with some bitterness towards someone that I had been harboring. I shared that this bitterness I was dealing with... I didn't know quite how it got there, but I knew it was consuming me and causing me a lot of stress, angst, and frustration. "I just don't want to live like this or with this anymore!" I told her, "And I don't know what to do about it." She reminded me that prayer was the best start to going about this issue if I wanted a resolution.
Right about then we pulled into the church parking lot to hear Blake preach.
While there were many good points, and the sermon was delivered so well, what stuck to me most was when Blake said, "Offense cuts us off from God."
I thought I didn't know why I was harboring bitterness, but I was holding offense against this person that I was bitter with. In my notes, I wrote, "This is what has been wrong. I can fast and cry out to God with my frustrations and try to make amends on my own, but go ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE IF I AM HARBORING OFFENSE. I can't forgive, and I can't move on."
He also said, "Don't step into someone else's unforgiveness, step into the Lord's forgiveness."
Brooke had been nudging me the whole time, knowing just as much as I knew that this was exactly what I needed to hear.
Deep down, I knew I was bitter because I felt hurt, offended, and on top of that- incapable of connecting with God. These issues were connected! I couldn't connect because my heart was not right and not ready to- my offenses were more of a god to me than the One True God.
I stepped back into Brooke's car after we had congratulated Blake and chatted with the church folk. And I said, "Well- there it is! There is my answer." God answered my plea to know why I was bitter and what direction I needed to take that pain and that problem. It was to Him. I needed to make my new direction and my new focal point the Lord's forgiveness.
Thank you for reading my story! This is all 100% of my real life, and I hope it can encourage and uplift your hearts. My prayer for you today is that you would strive in the Lord's forgiveness!
Best to you,
Mel xoxo
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