Pastor Ray Pritchard writes in the Keep Believing Ministries blog the following:
“Last Monday (December 28) was Good Riddance Day in Times Square. Organizers encouraged people to write their grievances down and then throw the lists into shredders symbolizing the act of letting go of painful memories, bad experiences, foolish mistakes, bad relationships, dumb choices, and long-held grudges that had been gunking up their insides. Participants could use a sledgehammer in case the shredder didn’t provide enough emotional release.One blogger clearly loves the idea:
I think this is becoming one of my favorite holidays!!! Today’s the chance to say Good Riddance to something… and I’m making quite a list!!!
There is something almost irresistible about the idea of “out with the old, in with the new.” Sometimes we need to say “good riddance” to the pain and hurt of the past. To do that we’re going to have to find the courage to let go of our anger, say farewell to our bitterness, and cast off our malice toward those who have hurt us deeply.
We must learn to forgive. Until we do that we can never go forward. As long as we live in the past, we will be chained to the past, and the people who have hurt us deeply win a double victory-once when they hurt us the first time and twice when we refuse to let go and move on.
I learned this many years ago in the first church I pastored right out of seminary. One year I surveyed the congregation and asked them to choose the topics for a series I called “The Marriage Clinic.” It was so successful that the next year I did the same thing for a series called “The Family Clinic.” When I surveyed the congregation two years in a row, only one topic was repeated. And that topic ended up receiving the most votes both years. It was “How to Handle Anger and Bitterness.” I remember being flabbergasted at the results so I asked my wife why that topic came in # 1 both years. With characteristic wisdom, she replied, “I guess it’s because our people have a lot of anger and bitterness.”
We all struggle with broken relationships, people who hurt us, painful words, deceitful actions, friends who turn against us, and unkind words said about us or our loved ones.
The Great Offender
The following two things seem to be true about the human condition: We always need forgiveness and we always have someone we need to forgive….” Read the rest of this sermon on the KBM site!
Lynette J. Hoy, NCC, LCPC, CAMS-IV
CounselCare Connection, P.C. – Anger Management Institute
2000 Spring Road, Suite 603 – Oak Brook, IL 60523
