Families tie us up in knots sometimes! We are bound by our past mistakes or by the roles we play. Breaking those bonds takes time, patience, and consistency. Family ties can be knotted quickly, but so hard to release.
None of us enjoy being faced with the ties that hold us back from growing within our families. We want to be heard and known for who we are now, not the person we are imprisoned to be because of our past. The problem is that we cannot change someone else's mind. We can only be consistently different and hope they will see and hear enough to set us free.
On the other side of the coin I see myself imprisoning my family with judgements that span the years. I lock my loved ones up with titles of crazy, controlling, unforgiving, wild, baby, bossy, unfocused, etc. And then God said, "Do unto others as you would have them do to you." I must change if I am to be free. What would change for me if I looked for the good in others and set them free to be the best they can be? What would my walk with Christ look like if I opened up the prison doors and set my captive family free from my preconceived ideas of how they will react or think or believe?
Father, You are Freedom. You are the Open Door. You are Good. Change my heart and mind to reflect You. Work Your will in my family. You are the lifter of our heads!
2 comments:
I agree with this post. It is hard to forgive and forget at times. Especially to family members because they are so close (boy do I know....). BUT because they are so close they need to be the first that we forgive and forget. (Am I talking to myself here or what!) I have had my share of mistakes with family, I admit. And people in the family had irked me as well. But I have learned to forgive and forget, no matter how much I am hurt. I have forgiven all irks in the past. And although I do care about other's feelings, I do not care if they have forgiven me or not. Again, I do care for them and their feelings towards me, but it is over THEIR head, their feelings. If they can't get over the fact, then they struggle with the feelings and there is nothing I can do.
Yes, easier said than done, as most things are. But hanging on to the past does nothing for the future but make you more of a prune. And if you think of the mistake that happened, ask God, is it really worth hanging onto? Is this little thing worth thinking about and holding over someone's head till I die?
People have titles of many sorts. I give people titles. And I know that people give me titles. But you can't think of that person in the title you give them. Look at them for who they are, not the title you give them.
Here, I will bash on myself:
A few weeks ago someone called me strong-willed and opinionated. I didn't know how to take that. Am I a bully, too harsh? So I asked a friend. And she agreed with what this person called me. She said I liked to get my way. BUT I wasn't mean about it. Just strong-willed. Which is a good quality to have. That way I will not get trampled over. BUT I have to keep in mind that I am strong-willed so that I do not trample over others. I have learned that people keep their mouth shut for fear of hurting others. But I think when we keep our mouth shut we hurt others because we do not give them our opinions or another point of view.
I wonder if people knew of their titles if they would do anything about it? If someone knew they were an unforgiving person would they have the strength to acknowledge that and try to forgive?
Have I gotten off track???
Glad it got you to thinking! Great thoughts. I'm slowly learning as the years pass by that putting ourselves at the center of our lives is futile. With God at the center we can see ourselves for who we are and become the best of whatever that is!
Thanks for sharing!
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