\u201cThose who forgive are thus releasing themselves from illusions, while those who withhold forgiveness are binding themselves to them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n For my practice period I named the people who have been closest to me in my life. It\u2019s not that I hold dislike for any of them, or that there were traumatic interactions. It is just that there are still memories of situations that disturb me. ACIM calls these grievances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I thought of each loved one, my grievances were mostly because they did not act in a way that I expected or needed. These were my illusions, my beliefs, that our lives together should follow how my mind had laid out. I could see that there were situations that still hurt. The tough ones were illnesses my loved ones\u2019 experience, which, of course, affected me. (My loved ones did not choose to be ill, so who are my grievances with?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The disturbances were with me; they are my own creations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God is the Love in which I forgive myself.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I release myself from illusions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After reading an article about mistakes made during the pandemic, I\u2019m having trouble forgiving. I know this is the way forward (and I don\u2019t want to see violent punishment called \u2018justice\u2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In my practice, I also listed medical doctors that ignored what I had to say about my body\u2019s ailments and did things to make matters worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How do we forgive and use what we\u2019ve learned to protect ourselves in the future? If things went well, those who harmed us might admit it, ask for forgiveness, and want our trust back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What would Love do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n If someone has stabbed me with a knife, then apologizes, do I let them hold the knife near me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Walk away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think I get it. I can Love and forgive from a distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In God we trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are troublesome times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am learning and growing. Why not others as well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trust God\u2019s Love to reach into all things, not only me. It is not my role to fix things, only to Love. I only have to do my part in the body of Christ, which is Love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGod is the Love in which I forgive.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Love is flowing and my resistance to forgiveness has dropped away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" God is the Love in which I forgive. 2-15-2024 \u201cThose who forgive are thus releasing themselves from illusions, while those who withhold forgiveness are binding themselves to them.\u201d For my practice period I named the people who have been closest … Continue reading 2-15-2023<\/h1>\n\n\n\n