We spend a lot of our lives regretting what we have done in the past and wishing we had behaved better and done things differently. Everyone makes mistakes and it is very easy to dwell on them to the point where they interfere with you living a carefree, peaceful life.
God is always listening and when we ask for forgiveness, he does so immediately. He doesn’t hold onto the things he has forgiven, they are instantly forgotten. We are harder on ourselves than he is on us. We find it much harder to forgive ourselves and can’t accept that God is much easier on us. We sometimes can’t quite believe that these sins can be forgiven and as a result, we hold onto them and they affect our daily lives.
It was St Julian of Norwich (a 14th century mystic and hermit) who said: “All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.” Just repeating that makes me feel better about life. Her theology is so optimistic and encouraging. She also said that God is compassionate: ‘do not blame yourself too much…when we begin to hate sin and to amend ourselves…there still persists a fear which hinders us, by looking at ourselves and our sins … and the perception of this makes us so woebegone and depressed that we cannot see any consolation.’
Thinking about past sins can lead us into a feeling of negativity and hopelessness. Let’s go easier on ourselves and know that we are loved and forgiven by God. Put the past behind and honour God by accepting his love and compassion.
God bless you and may you feel him enfolding you in his love,
Widows Mote 