By Richard Mabey Jr.
Since September of last year, I have been on a most interesting and enduring path, in search of some degree of healing for my heart condition. It was only last month, when I began going to the University of Florida Medical Center (Shands) that I was definitively diagnosed, very specifically, with a heart disease known as Apical Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Many Cardiologists call it “the silent killer” because it is so very difficult to pinpoint into a defined diagnosis.
Basically, one in 500 people get Apical HCM. It’s a relatively rare heart disease. In the past couple of weeks, I have been thinking more and more about my relationship with God, getting right with God and also what I need to do to become a more righteous person. One single, solitary word, has kept popping up onto the inner screen of my mind. And, that word is FORGIVE.
Not to just give superficial forgiveness to those people who did me wrong. But rather, to deeply forgive them, from the deepest fibers of my heart and the innermost sinew of the marrow of my bones. To simply burn out any ill feelings that I may have been holding onto, on a conscious or even subconscious level, toward people who have hurt me.
I thought of three or four teachers, from grade school and high school, who mocked my last name. Their sneers, the pathetic joy that they seemed to swim in, by ridiculing a sensitive child. I thought of my gym teacher, from the eighth grade who mocked me for not being able to climb the rope all the way to the top. I thought of cruel supervisors and gossiping coworkers. And on and on the list unrolled.
And then, about a week ago, I prayed and prayed and prayed for God to burn out the grievances that I was harboring against these people. As I prayed at my desk, with my eyes closed, I felt the presence of Jesus, standing over my right shoulder. I felt the hand of Christ, gently touch my right shoulder. I felt a huge burden being lift from my heart center. A calm, serene, peaceful feeling then filled the chambers of my heart.
Here’s the whole thing in nutshell. God loves you more than you will ever know. It is a love that is deeper than the beautiful blue sea and wider than the Atlantic Ocean. God’s love knows no limitations. It is boundless.
God’s immense love will forgive us for anything and everything that we have done, consciously or unconsciously, that have hurt another person. But there’s one caveat. In turn, we need to forgive those who have done us wrong. Forgiveness is the key to the Kingdom of Heaven.
This is deadly serious. This is not a joke. Pray for God to help you burn out the bad feelings that you may be holding toward someone who has hurt you in the past. In prayer, ask God to burn out those grievances to a charcoal crisp and let the wind of the Divine Spirit blow away the charred fibers.
To truly forgive someone, may well be the hardest thing you will ever do. But it will give you the peace that passeth all understanding. Truly, forgiveness is the sacred key to Heaven’s Gate.
Richard Mabey Jr. is a freelance writer. He hosts a YouTube Channel titled, “Richard Mabey Presents.” Richard most recently published a book of poetry and short stories. He can be reached at richardmabeyjr@hotmail.com.