your lights are on (?)

"if you drive a black cavalier with the licence plate,&%$023 - your lights are on"

as the words came from my mouth, the bad taste was already forming

is this really what we've become? simple purveyors of information?

...

where is the call for restoration?

the cries for healing and justice and mercy and forgiveness?

God, forgive our near-sightedness

...

"if you are alive and breathing, it's time to turn your light on!"

come back

grace.
mercy.
forgiveness.

you have been offered them all freely

family.
love.
safety.

people have offered them to you because of what they have received

...

but you have turned them away

were you too scared of what it all meant?

have you been alone for so long that community disgusts?

...

there is still grace for you. mercy is yet extended. forgiveness continually offered.

what is family if they leave? what is love if not enduring? what is safety that harms?

...

come back my friend

day3

acknowledging that this is no mundane task approached flippantly...

today, begin the process of forgiving that person.

yes, they may do it again. yes, it still hurts.

but your lack of forgiveness is doing nothing but make you a bitter and angry person (and most likely, as a result - you're the one hurting others)

"To forgive is to set someone free and then find out it's you." - Rob Bell

forgive

have you forgiven yourself?

you know, for that thing that keeps haunting you? you know what I'm talking about...

forgive yourself, please.

stop dragging yourself through the mire. stop wallowing in unforgiveness. stop abusing yourself. stop mutilating yourself.

please don't HATE yourself. allow yourself to love yourself.

forgive yourself, please.

I hear a lot of people talk a lot about forgiveness. They talk about how we should forgive others (far easier said than done). They talk about how they have received forgiveness. But these same people neglect a crucial aspect - themselves. They have not forgiven themselves.

Is that you? Even as you read these words - images, memories, regrets bubble up to the surface. My intent is not to evoke pain, it is to evoke forgiveness.

forgive yourself, please.

...now you're thinking "yeah, yeah, ok."

but stop...and forgive yourself truly.

What's done has been done. That cannot be changed. Seek forgiveness in the places you need to and start again - new and fresh. Stop dwelling on the past.

You may think I'm daft. You may think I'm naive. You may think I don't understand what you've been through, what you've done, or what's been done to you. You're probably right. I may not.

But does my lack of understanding have any bearing on your need of forgiveness? Don't use me as your excuse to withhold forgiveness.

Where do you need to seek forgiveness? family? friend? God? yourself?

this bitterness and resentment so many of us carry around in our lives is infecting our minds and our hearts, permeating the very fabric of our existence. get rid of it.

maybe there's someone you need to forgive...release it and live freely.

The Jesus I follow is, among so many things, one of mercy, love, and forgiveness. For those of you who say you also follow this Jesus - maybe now's the time to back up your talk and forgive.

if you're reading this with any glimpse of honesty - forgive yourself, please and let's together live freely and fully.