The Blessing of Feeling Forgiven

There is a story of a young priest making his rounds at a local hospital. He came into the room of a woman who looked frail and clearly near the end of her earthly life. The priest asked if he could sit down and inquired how she was doing. She replied, "I've made a mess of life and the relationships with my husband and daughter. There's no hope for me--I'm going to hell."

Sitting in silence for a few moments, the priest noticed a framed picture on the nightstand of a beautiful young woman." Picking up the picture frame, he asked, "Who is she?" Smiling a little, the woman replied, "That is my daughter; she is the one beautiful thing in my life."

The priest said, "And would you help her if she was in trouble or made a mistake? Would you forgive her? And would you still love her?"

The woman cried, "Of course, I would! I would do anything for her. She will always be precious and wonderful to me. Why do you ask such a question?"

"Because I want you to know that God has a picture of you as well," answered the priest.

Through his message of unconditional forgiveness and love, the priest was giving back to this woman her ability to connect with her own goodness. I believe that worthiness doesn’t have prerequisites—love, belonging and being worthy are each of our birthrights.

Being reminded of our goodness in spite of our mistakes can help us begin to reconnect to our own intrinsic divinity and what we have to offer. Feeling forgiven is the way to open our hearts and begin to ask forgiveness from those that we have caused pain.

One way that helps me remember this is to have a mantra that I say to myself, especially when I am feeling less than lovable. My recent one is, "I am seeing and loving myself and others from God's point of view." If it feels challenging to say something positive about how you are right now, maybe begin with, "I am becoming the person I want to be. I work toward honesty and authenticity."

Come up with your own phrase--google Mantras for Worthiness or Self-Love or Forgiveness. Or create your own saying. Keep it short and write it on an index card or post-it, putting it somewhere that you will be reminded regularly. For years, I had one on my bathroom mirror that I saw first thing in the morning while brushing my teeth.

An excellent book that I read recently is "Unconditional Forgiveness--A Simple and Proven Method to Forgive Everyone and Everything," by Mary Hayes Grieco. With many stories and clear steps to follow, she addresses self-forgiveness as well as forgiving others, evil and even God. I highly recommend the book.
www.amazon.com/Unconditional-Forgiveness-Forgive-Everyone-Everything/dp/1582702993/

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