Rice paper

This weekend I was privileged to attend a ladies ministry event called “Touching the hem of his garment” with some of our home cell ladies. What a beautiful and unusual ministry. No famous names, no qualified speakers. Just real women sharing real life experiences of the healing power of God to overcome alcohol, rape, molestation, suicide and other life altering events and how these women had learned to forgive those that had harmed them.

What I found most helpful were the symbols used during the ministry day. A piece of cloth with which to connect to Christ's garment. A stick and a stone (guess what for?) and then the rice paper. How powerful to see the rice paper just dissolve into the water along with hurts we had written on them.

But God wasn't done yet. Sunday's service dealt with regret..... and you guessed it, another symbol. Writing your regrets on a cloth and tying them to a stick tree and..... leaving there. I have found that using symbolism is a powerful way to connect to God and deal with aspects of forgiveness.

If you've been struggling to let go of something or someone who has really hurt you, try writing them a letter and then burning it. Maybe burn a photograph or give away belongings of the person that were left with you to charity.

God desires to heal our hurts and free us from the past and things holding us back, so make a move and do something symbolic to help you along the road of forgiveness.