All Of This From A Kid's Movie

I came home today and fixed myself a sandwich for lunch and plopped down in front of the TV for a few minutes intending on turning on the news before I got back to work. My boys had gone upstairs and left the movie "Meet The Robinsons" playing on the TV. It is one of my favorite animated movies so rather than turn on the news I watched a few minutes of the movie. If you've never seen it, the story line is really all about learning to let go of the past and to keep moving forward.

As I sat there watching this animated kid's movie, I started thinking about how refusing to let go of past hurts and offenses, is truly an epidemic. Think about it. Like "Goob" in the movie, we so often hang onto things with this idea of revenge taking root in our heart. We've been wounded and we figure that its only fair to get back at those who have hurt us. Or, we remain silent, don't launch a counter attack, and stuff the thing deep down inside of us where nobody can see it. Regardless of which route we take, the truth is that if we never truly deal with it, the result is never healthy. When I say deal with it, I mean let it go. Choose to forgive and move forward.

"But, this person did this," "I can't forgive them," "You have no idea what I've been through." We've used all the excuses and to us they all seem valid. However, the excuses never bring healing. When we refuse to forgive others, the wound remains opened and healing never comes. And while we may decide to break ties with the one who wounded us, unhealed wounds affect how we approach others and how we approach life. Perhaps it makes us view life as if we are a victim, or we build walls that never allow anyone else get close. Or, maybe we set out on a mission to prove others wrong, or we settle into a life that trusts nobody.

I think Jesus understood the power that a heart of unforgiveness could have on us. He spoke on the subject more than once, instructing us to forgive those who have hurt us. He even went so far as to say that if we want forgiveness from our Heavenly Father, then we must be willing to forgive others.

On the other hand, our enemy, the devil understands what unforgiveness can do to us as well. His strategy is to cause us to never let go of those things because he longs for us to live in bondage to it all. Bondage vs. freedom? Tough choice isn't it. God wants us free, and the enemy wants to keep us in bondage.

There have been seasons of my life where I refused to forgive those who had hurt me. It affected the way I did life and every relationship was tainted by that unforgiveness. Those times were miserable. Those seasons were truly some of the most frustrating times of my life. Today, I can think of no person I have unforgiveness toward. I am totally free and I have to admit freedom beats bondage hands down.

Make a decision today, to let go of past offenses. I know some of those wounds are serious and there are hurts that go deep and are life altering. I want to encourage you though, there is nothing quite as life altering as the day you release that thing. The moment you choose to forgive and move forward, the healing begins.

Back to the movie. After watching a few minutes I fast forwarded to the end of the movie because I love the song at the end. I'll end with a few lines of the song here, and I pray you'll take it to heart.

Let it go,

Let it roll right off your shoulder

Don't you know

The hardest part is over

Let it in,

Let your clarity define you

In the end,

We will only just remember how it feels....