Forgiveness Builds Confidence

In my eyes, Cinderella is an incredible icon of self-esteem and confidence. Why do I say that? Because no matter who tried to cut her down, no matter how many cutting remarks her step mother and step sisters made, she never sought to seek revenge. It is the most humbling thing in the world to me! It takes a high self-esteem to have the humility to forgive someone of such cruel nature, just as Cinderella did in the end. 

Being in a conflict with someone can really hurt. Sometimes when a hurtful comment arises, all we want to do is scream and let them have it. But how often we forget that the true nature of our spirit is not one that seeks revenge. It isn't the person we are mad at that's the culprit here, it's Satan. He knows our weaknesses perfectly, he knows what buttons can be pushed to really get us angry and hurt; he uses that to influence others. As we act in anger and spite, we lower our self-esteem as well as self-respect and it takes away from our progress to be as Christ is. 

It sure takes humility to let something that was so hurtful just go. Words and actions can feel as if they pierce our soul to the very core, but it doesn't have to be that way as we turn to Christ and let Him in. 




So here's what you do to practice forgiveness...

1. Pray for the other person
2. Pray about the angry feelings you may have had
3. Make a list of 'I forgive's' (quite honestly this should be done weekly and sometimes you will be writing about yourself on reasons why you forgive yourself.)
4. Put yourself in their shoes, what are they going through right now?
5. Read scriptures so you can allow Christ to warm your heart.

Let's go back to #3. That's the most important one. 

It's important we ACT when someone hurts or offends us, but it's equally important we don't REACT! To act means we are choosing to take care of our emotional and physical health by not bottling our emotions in, but releasing them properly. 

Writing is one of the greatest tools we have because it puts us in tune with our subconscious mind which has every single answer we will ever need. As we write, we allow ourselves to be reminded of truth and we are reminded of how valuable we are which builds our self-esteem so we don't even have a reason to react. 

As we take action on turning our hearts to Christ and freeing ourselves from carrying burdens of revenge and grudge, we become free and self-esteem grows stronger, allowing our hearts to openly give more. 

There will be many times you will be angry at someone or something; acknowledge it, write it down, and then write down exactly what you are forgiving. If you don't want to remember it, rip it up and throw it away and you are FREE! Satan has no more power to let that action either by yourself or another to bring you down. 

FORGIVENESS - MATTHEW WEST

As I was in the temple tonight, I spent a lot of time praying over an individual who has hurt and offended me. My heart feels free to just let it go and allow Christ to take this heavy burden. It is in the process of letting go and trusting Christ with our whole heart, allowing him to carry those heavy burdens, that self-esteem and a greater understanding of our individual worth grows. Because Christ offers us forgiveness, we must extend it to others! 

GREAT RESOURCE FOUND HERE.