Recently I was at my mom’s new home in Georgia helping her unpack her belongings and making her cardboard-box-filled-house feel more like a comfy home. They had been unpacking for the past couple of weeks and discovered many items were broken during the move. Antiques, treasured items, lamps, dishes, etc…all damage. After photos were taken for claim reasons, the items that could fit were put into a large box. Throughout my time there, more moving packages were unpacked, and more items were discovered broken.
When I peered into the box of broken pieces, a variety of emotions ran through me. I even asked my mom and step-dad how they felt when they looked into the box. Common words were: sadness, mad that trust was put into others that was broken, hurt because of the sentimental value of items weren’t going to be valued for as much as they emotionally meant, and hurt. Yet, we all knew that these were just material things. Lives were intact and loved ones were safe. THEY made it.
Even after my sister-in-love repaired many broken items with glue, you could tell that those items had been damaged.
This whole scenario reminded me so much of our lives.
When Carol mentioned that he was mad because he had put his trust in others, I immediately thought about how we can only put our complete trust on the Lord. Man (we) are all human. We make mistakes. We fail. Even the closest of people in my life will, at some point, let me down. Trust. Trust in the Lord.
“It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in people.” Psalm 118:8
Being that we all make mistakes, others hurt us and we hurt others, scars are there. When Wendy glued those broken pieces together, the small cracks were still evident. Now, when one of those material treasures are looked upon by the owner, a story will conjure up in their minds…The story of what once was, what happened, and what it is now. Much like us…even after forgiveness has occurred we remember. We remember how we earned that scar. Praise the Lord that He not only forgives us of all our sins, He forgets them as well.
Then he says, “I will forget their sins and never again remember the evil they have done.” Hebrew 10:17
Forgiving is a must. When others cause hurt and heartache in our lives, we have to forgive. Earnestly forgive others and yourself. I’m a big believer in the bible. In Matthew 6:14-15 it says, “Yes, if you forgive others for the wrongs they do to you, then your Father in heaven will also forgive your wrongs. But if you don’t forgive others, then your Father in heaven will not forgive the wrongs you do.” Ouch and okay. I know that I want to be forgiven by my Heavenly Father, so I better forgive. So, although the forgetting part is hard for us, turn your perspective. Instead of giving Satan the happiness of knowing that “scar” will cause you to again have bitterness and resentment, praise the Lord that you made it. You are safe in His arms. You are no longer in that situation. Have joy in the end. Do NOT allow Satan to steal your joy. You are forgiven!
Do you have some brokenness in need of repair? Allow God to be your Repairman.
He heals their broken hearts and bandages their wounds. Psalm 147:3
Do you need to forgive someone? Do it and don’t look back. Be free in forgiving and being forgiven.
Be kind and loving to each other. Forgive each other the same as God forgave you through Christ. Ephesians 4:32
I pray that you will change your perspective of bitterness and resentment from the brokenness in your life to one of “Praise the Lord He restored me and is always with me.” Through it all, you’ll discover…you made it.
Please know that I am praying for you.
Blessings to you and yours,
Stephanie