Forgiveness and Faith

Jean Green comes in to chapel at Mattersey every Thursday and is like an amazing Grandma to the students.

Last week she shared her powerful personal story of her struggle with forgiveness and what happened with a little bit of faith.

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If we have faith as small as a mustard seed we can move mountains.

I was hurt so very badly by someone - not just once and I was hurting for a long time.

I felt God challenge me and say, "Are you hurting or are you bitter?"

No I'm not bitter, I'm hurting! I didn't want to admit it but eventually I realised I was bitter.

It manifest itself as a either a block of ice where I felt nothing, or a raging fire that consumed me.

God challenged me again to forgive.

It was too hard. I can’t do that. I can't forgive.

God challenged me again - "Do you want to forgive?"

That felt like a tooth being pulled out without anesthetic.

I didn’t want to forgive. I wanted to hang onto it.

In a little while - I started to say I want to want to forgive. It was the mustard seed.

God took that - the ice and fire - they started to move closer together. The fire started to melt the ice and the water put the fire out - until there was nothing left.

I was able to know that forgiveness for the person that devastated me.

It was beyond words.

It released me. I got peace.