Let it go

Bearing with one another and,

if one has a complaint against another, 

forgiving each other,

as the Lord has forgiven you,

so you also must forgive.

Colossians 3:13

Forgetting what lies behind and

straining forward to what lies ahead.

Philippians 3:13

Forgive and forget?  Forgive, yes.  But forgiveness does not require us to forget. The Hebrew meaning behind the word forgetting is "letting go".  The memory remains, but we do not live in the memory.  We live as if we do not remember it.  And when we do remember, we have the ability to see through the filter of grace. 

The moment we truly forgive, something beautiful happens...we no longer allow the hurt to control our behavior and our actions.  Our thoughts are no longer held in a prison cell. As we let go, we have the ability to move on.  We are free. 

We are to forgive as Jesus forgives us.  His forgiveness cost him... his life.  So it is with us.  Forgiveness is an act of selflessness.  It's not easy.  It requires strength. We strain forward to what lies ahead.  It's there that I find peace. 

To forgive means to stop, to cease, to grant pardon, to give up.  I've heard the phrase, "Don't give up".  So this act of forgiving goes against every grain that I have instilled in my heart.  I fight it.  I listen to the whispers inside my heart that say, "Don't stop. Don't give up. You have every right".  

But what is it exactly that I am called to forgive and let go of?  Anything that is keeping me from moving forward... anything that is keeping me from being all that God has created me to be. 

So as I forgive, I give up. I let it go.