Grievous hurt often results in anger toward the person who has wounded us.

Like the sack carried by Joseph in the story shared in my previous post “Forgiveness Sets Us Both Free,”  anger can weigh us down and suck the joy of life right out of us.

So imagine what life might be like without the heavy burden of anger you carrying around inside you.

Forgiveness sets us free from the burden of our anger. Forgiveness is not saying that the words or actions that hurt us are okay. Rather, forgiveness is letting go of those words or actions and the anger and pain they cause.

Forgiveness is like pulling a thorn from our bare foot. Pulling the thorn out does not change the fact that we stepped on the thorn, but it does stop the pain and allows us to keep walking forward.

Got a thorn that needs pulling? Let’s talk about it. www.threelisten.com.