Monument

May last night be a monument in my life! This is a powerful testimony that I'm blessed and encouraged to write. Please read it and rejoice with me in the power of Christ!

Last night we met with some good friends at the church. The topic wasn't necessarily clear, nor was there immediate resolve. However, my sister in Christ looked at me right before we dismissed and said, "There's something welling up in you. You have some bitterness, and the Lord wants to deal with it." I agreed because we had prayed before the meeting, believing that God would bring out what needed to be brought out. It felt hard to hear, but I assumed the Lord must have given her that impression. I reflected on it prayerfully on the way home.

Earlier in the day I felt the Lord telling me I had some bitterness, so what happened last night only confirmed it. I confessed my bitterness over the phone to a pastor and agreed to spend some time in prayer with Natasha about it. I prayed by myself and also found some written prayers. The Lord led me into a long prayer of confession, followed by a prayer of forgiveness and release for my immediate bitterness. This was all good.

Then the Lord showed me a prayer for forgiveness of my parents in the prayer book. I decided to go through it. It became very emotional for me, but it was spiritually freeing, to say the least! I never imagined that halfway through the prayer I would end up being delivered of some major bitterness toward my family, but that's how God works. He is so good to uncover things that would otherwise threaten relationships among our family and between God and me! His faithfulness is a huge blessing! I'm sure the Lord has more work to do, but I want to establish what happened last night as a memorial in my spiritual journey. Regardless of what else the Lord brings me through, even with my family, I stand firmly in the strong freedom of Christ, released from bitterness and having released my family (and friend) from my control. Praise the Lord!