Wounded Healer

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Last weekend I had the privilege of leading a weekend retreat with young people in their twenties and thirties.  It was an emotional time for many of us who had to hear the various heart-wrenching stories of some of these young people and the various ways that they have dealt with these life changing events and still continue to do so. 

The weekend was a time for them to take stock of their lives and see if they were satisfied with where they were presently in their lives and if they happy with the person that they were becoming.  I am always amazed by the resilience of the human spirit.  Even though they were going through their own hell, they were still willing and able to try and reach out to others who were also hurting.

Due to the magnitude of the hurts some were unable to be able to reach the place of forgiving the perpetrators.  Forgiveness for some is a journey; it is not an overnight event.  Jesus was able to forgive his perpetrators on the cross.  Forgiveness is an impossible thing to achieve fully without the assistance of God in our lives.  When we truly forgive we are able to pray for that person from our hearts, without wishing them harm.

Lystra Long, OP
New Grant, Trinidad

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