I walked into my
father’s house and there she sat. My step-mother, Debbie, was in the
final stages of cancer. Her frail, weak body made her barely
recognizable. She burst into tears when she saw my face. She must have
seen the compassion in my eyes. She was not usually emotional. However,
that day was different. There was a keen sense of God’s love in the
atmosphere.
I sat down
next to her and we began to talk. It was just the two of us sitting
there soaking in the Presence that filled the room. I don’t remember
much about the conversation. I only remember a deep, intense love in my
heart. I asked Debbie if she would like me to pray with her, and she
enthusiastically said, “Yes!” I held tight onto her hands and
began to pray words of love and protection over her. The fear I had seen
in her eyes began to lift and a fresh glow came onto her face.
After spending time chatting and praying together that day, I hugged her tight and said, “Goodbye.” As
the door shut behind me, a flood of emotion came into my spirit. I
began sobbing tears of compassion for the pain Debbie was feeling. I
realized in that moment that I had experienced the greatest miracle of
my life—God had set me free from the prison of unforgiveness.
It was
decades before that Debbie had been (in my young mind) the one who had
broken up my family. At thirteen years old, my dad had left me and my
family to marry Debbie and raise her daughter. Hurt and bitterness
plagued me and held me captive for a very long time.
But that
day, I rejoiced in the freedom I had found in Christ. I had made the
choice to forgive my step-mom many years before she had been diagnosed
with cancer. And on this emotional day, the deep love I was expressing
to Debbie was the evidence that I was free indeed.
Christ came
to earth and died so that we could live and love freely. That day with
my step-mom will be forever etched in my mind because I know that it was
only through the power of Jesus Christ that a person could love the one
who hurt them the most. It was the last time that Debbie was able to
communicate with me before she passed away peacefully several weeks
later. A number of years have gone by and the love I have for my
step-mom is still as strong as it was then.
In Isaiah
61, it says the Lord has anointed us—His followers—to bind up the
brokenhearted and to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from
darkness for the prisoners. How can we help set the captives free? We
can start by spreading the message of forgiveness.
Live Abundantly!
Amy
This was originally written in February as a guest post for Ask Wise Counsel. http://askwisecounsel.blogspot.com
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