Power of a Praying Woman 10/17/06 9:02 AM Page 45
j C HAPTER T HREE i
Lord, Help Me to Be a Forgiving Person
M
y mother was abusive when I was growing up, but my father wasn’t. When I became a Christian, forgiving my mother was the obvious thing to do. It wasn’t until years later that God revealed my unforgiveness toward my dad. When a Christian counselor I was speaking with about the unrest and frustration in my soul asked me if I had any unforgiveness toward my dad, I said no. Why would I? He wasn’t the abusive parent. But when the counselor told me to pray and ask God to show me the truth, a lifetime of rage, anger, hurt, unforgiveness, and tears ?ooded my entire being. Down deep I felt my dad never came to my rescue. He never rescued me from my mother’s insanity. He never came and let me out of the closet she had locked me in for so much of my early childhood. I didn’t realize how much I blamed him for allowing my mother, who he knew was severely mentally ill, to treat me with such cruelty and abuse. When I forgave him that day, I felt peace like I had never known before.
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