I use to be one of those people who judged. I had an opinion for every circumstance and every fault that a person may have. I was a teenager who was young and foolish, who wanted to be out in the world. My childish mind knew nothing of the problems others faced or the hardships of life, but rest assured, I learned.
A good friend and I were talking the other day. Our pasts were similar, and our paths were walked in a familiar line. While hers veered one way, mine bent another. I found forgiveness, self-love, and most importantly, I found God. I learned to let the past go. I figured out I could no longer judge another because I had made mistakes just like the people I had turned my nose up at as a young girl.
I had been through some of the worst things imaginable, been treated in the worst ways imaginable, but yet He walked beside me and told me my life was worth living.
I was a new woman, who had let the old woman go.
My friend found God, but parts of her life were so traumatic that she struggles to find her worth. We often have conversations about how valuable she is. I always point out how there is something extraordinary about her because if she was nothing worth having, the devil wouldn’t be fighting so hard to win her over.
I’m not the best at recalling scripture at times, but during our talks, the Lord always manages to put just the right words in my mouth. She will recount an experience, and in turn, I often have one of my own to share. By the end of the conversation, I’ve managed to change her way of thinking. I’ve pointed out concepts she’s never thought of before.
She’s a warrior and a fighter. Her life is worth living too.
She tells me I’m her therapist, but she doesn’t realize she keeps me grounded. I can’t pass judgement because I faced those same demons and lived to tell about it.
Small-minded people still exist in the world. They forget the imperfect things they have done. They sit in our churches, hold political positions, and have a seat at the table at our family gatherings. They live in our neighborhoods, and they work in our schools. They cease to remember that a church is just a brick-and-mortar building unless sinners like us fill the pews on Sunday mornings.
We seek acceptance and forgiveness from these folks, but we forget the mighty God we serve is who we should turn to.
These people are born of blood and bone just like the rest of us. There is no U-Haul to be carried to the other side, and when we leave this world, we take nothing when we go.
Forgive yourself. Let go of the past. Say goodbye to the old man, and welcome the new man. Onward, Christian soldiers.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
