A Christmas gift
Published November 28, 2008
Though it seems a bit early, Christmas is not that far away. As always, Christmas is a wonderful time for family, friendship and reflection on the past and hopes for the future. Christmas brings celebration, joy and is a herald of better things in the future. As we move into the future, a reality of our lives is that we are always affected by the past.
As we go through life, we all gather unto ourselves, our personal experiences, both negative and positive that have a dramatic impact upon how we relate to our families, friends, co-workers and others with who we are in relationship. It is at times those negative past experiences that have a dramatic impact upon who we are today. Let me give you an example from my life. When I was nine years old, I was sexually assaulted. It took me 37 years to disclose that. In those 37 years that one single act affected me and my relationship with my wife and my family in profound ways.
Perhaps the most profound way it affected me was the anger and frustration I felt inside of me all the time. This of course spills over into relationships with family and others. Did the act of that person, who did this to me, affect the life of that person? I would speculate absolutely not. Yet here I was walking around with all this anger and being held hostage by an act that was perpetrated over 50 years ago. It was not until I came to the point of being able to forgive that person that I finally became free. There is a saying, "When you forgive you set a prisoner free, only then do you realize that the prisoner is you".
We are all in some ways captive to our pasts. We go about our daily lives burdened with the past and having that burden affect us daily. I would deeply encourage you to reflect on your lives this Christmas season and find it in your heart to forgive those past transgressions against you. The sense of relief and release will be totally overwhelming. Not only will it transform you, it will transform your life and your relationships.
As we enter the season of gift giving, I would deeply encourage you to consider giving yourself a gift of forgiveness and setting yourself free. Let us always be mindful though of the great gift God gave us over 2000 years ago when he sent his son, Jesus Christ, to us. Jesus came not to condemn us but to redeem us. He also comes to forgive us so that through that forgiveness, we will experience peace beyond all understanding. May God richly bless you and all your families this coming Christmas and may he also bless Strathcona County.
Peter Wlodarczak
Councillor, Ward 4
780-464-8146
wlodarczak@strathcona.ab.ca.
Last updated: Tuesday, March 23, 2010
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