from broken and rage to humbled and loved

When I first started this Bible study I was completely closed off. I saw myself as damaged goods, lost, unloveable, and broken. The topic of forgiveness put me in such a rage I would do EVERYTHING humanly possible to avoid it all together. Why? Because the world told me that forgiveness was forgetting, that it was essentially allowing what someone had done to me go with just a slap on the wrist. And it made me more angry. The world wanted me to believe that I had to do all of this on my own, that I was utterly alone. Jesus told me otherwise.

The growth I see in myself, as someone who has been and still is working on healing from the past, is someone I can say I am proud of, that none of this would have been possible on my own determination. This is purely by the grace of God. The Lord has opened my eyes to my ways: the parts that I fell short in, the grudges I was holding, things I kept hidden that I didn’t think about anymore.

The Lord renewed my heart and soul and given me love for others that He has for me. The Lord TRULY humbled me throughout this Bible Study. I have been forgiven of my sins. I let go of the burdens I had been carrying. I have been made new in the image of God. And I am entirely grateful for all of this.