God's Pursuit of Me

A Quiet Forgiveness

Forgiveness is really such a personal quest.

A lonely journey.

Isn’t it?

I mean, there’s the public forgiveness – announcing it, requesting it, bestowing, granting it.  All of that.

But the true work of forgiveness,

the nitty gritty,

happens

almost entirely

inside

your head

(or heart).

And the

impossibly challenging

part is how

invisible

it is.

How thankless.

How

not noticed

not appreciated

not acknowledged

by anyone.

Forgiveness is occurring when you refrain from making that nasty comeback out loud to someone who may really deserve it.

It happens when you stop yourself from saying cruel words to your other friends about the one who harmed you.

Forgiveness is taking place when you begin to stop your thoughts from traveling down that well worn rut of self-pity for the wrongs you have suffered.

You are on the path of forgiveness when you do not allow old wounds to resurface in a new argument, verbally or mentally.

See?

All of these steps in this journey of forgiveness

happen

almost entirely

in your head.

And guess who is aware of them?

No one.

Absolutely no one.

And that is the

lonely

no-one-is-here-to-celebrate-with-me

nature of

forgiveness.

11 Comments

  • Erica

    This was beautiful, I shared this with a friend today. I hope it makes her feel better, I know it made me feel better.
    Thanks, Erica

    • laceykeigley

      Thank you so much.
      It’s hard.
      And lonely.
      And it really makes me feel stronger and more capable when I get encouraging comments like that!
      Thank you.

  • Amy Liddle

    Very true words, Lacey. I've heard it said that we are most like Christ when we forgive. That's a pretty little saying, but it's also true. I believe it is a mark of a true believer, for forgiveness is the ultimate expression of love.

  • Terry

    You are amazing. Your strength in being able to forgive is not as invisible as you think. I'm really impressed by it and someday hope I can get there.

    • laceykeigley

      Oh Terry – not so amazing at all.
      But thank you.
      And you, my friend, are an amazing piece of work yourself.
      And I owe you a pseudo-facebook letter.

  • nikkie

    It does 'feel' invisible doesn't it? I know that I know that I know the Lord sees it. He honors it, appreciates it and acknowledges it. Otherwise, I'm not sure He'd call us to such a daunting task.

    But, wow is it ever lonely. Whether we are forgiving another person or waiting for someone to forgive us, it's just a lonely road.

    I'm so thankful we are never really alone.

  • maryhess

    You know, I thought I had really recovered from a wrong committed against me last year, only to find myself in the shower this morning, replaying the whole scene wishing I could have "handled" it differently – said what I thought, etc. I didn't get mad but I was disappointed that I let my mind replay that whole thing. Thanks for sharing. I really need to work on this.