Forgiveness

Saturday, Feb. 9th, 2008, 10:14 a.m. - For those who do not know about our wreck, I will try to give you a brief summary. I don't even know where to begin. That particular Saturday morning, I decided that I wanted to go to town with my mom and dad to do some shopping. So, my mom hopped in the drivers seat, my dad being the gentleman that he is, let me ride up front in the passangers seat and he sat in the backseat behind me. We all buckled up and off we went. Well less than a mile from our house a lady by the name of Tammy Woolbright ran a stop sign and struck my moms SUV in the side, causing us to flip two complete times back on to all four wheels. She claimed to have never saw us coming. Thankfully, we were all okay except for a few cuts and bruises. I had never been in a wreck before and this one has def. had a huge effect on me. You can not imagine what it is like to close your eyes and listen so hard, so hard for your parents to make a noise so that you know they are alive. Those 2 flips seemed to last 2 years! After the wreck, I could not sleep, for nearly 2 weeks, I did not sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I would have nightmares that we all died, or my mom died, or my dad died, or that I lost both my parents that day. I was trapped inside the car because my door was badly smashed in so I had a lot of time to sit and look around the car at all the damage, making my dreams very real! I woke up thinking they were true and I would go to my parents room and look for them. I eventually went to a doctor and was diagnosed with post-tramatic stress disorder and was given medication to help control my severe anxiety attacks, my depression, my irrational thoughts, and to help me rest at night. I also was referred to a therapist. One of the major things that we focused on in therapy was being able to forgive. I was having a hard time forgiving because I was so angry at this woman for almost taking my family away from me or me away from my family and never once apologizing. Showing zero remorse for what she had done. I do realize that everyone makes mistakes but in almost every situation, we all still say, "I am sorry!". Three simple words can do so much and can mean so much. I was so very angry at her. Still to this day, I have not been able to forgive her until last night...

Last night, I went to our young adult bible class and we talked about the book of Matthew, Chapter 6. At first we focused on the first four verses, we talked about doing good things for others not because we want to look good in front of others or want something in return but just out of the goodness of our hearts. Next, we focused on Matthew 6:12. We talked about how forgiveness is the best gift you can ever receive and the best gift that you can give to others. Jesus passionately taught us to forgive others, to let go, to let him handle it. He wants us to be at peace and in order for that to happen anger must be replaced with forgiveness. Col.3:13 says, You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. I have finally been able to let go and a great burden was lifted! So who says that bible studies are just social events and time to visit...