confessions and forgiveness

I have a confession.

I just pulled all of these out of my fridge. Most are a month or two old.



I know, I know. Disgusting. A month ago I told my sister not to eat the rice and beans in one of those containers because it was probably bad. And yet it just stayed there. Why would any reasonable person leave spoiled food in the fridge? For months. I'm not really sure my exact reasons, but it probably had something to do with the fact that I like the look of a full fridge, even if it is full of inedible leftovers. But mostly I just didn't want to deal with it. I was sure I'd gag and not be able to handle the smell. And yet the irony is the longer I leave it, the nastier it gets and the more the work compounds.

And isn't that just how unforgiveness works? You let it sit in there to rot away and yet you don't know why. You have no good reason. Maybe hanging on to something you should of let go of months (or years) ago is comforting. It doesn't makes sense, but maybe the truth is that you just like it there. But it does you no good. If you eat of it, it will make you sick. Maybe, like me, you just don't want to deal with it. The work is daunting and unpleasant. Quite frankly, it stinks. But the longer you let it sit there, the more bitter and nasty it gets.

I dumped all of them down the garbage quickly and without apology. I was not sorry to get rid of it. After the first two, I had a new motivation to clean all the junk out. Once I got started and actually did it, cleaning out the fridge wasn't that bad. Maybe you have your reasons for refusing to forgive. Perhaps you never got the apology you think you deserve. Maybe your anger is justified. Maybe you've had it in there for so long, it has become a familiar acquaintance. But whatever the reason, it's rotting inside you and starting to smell. And like dumping out the leftovers, it just might be a lot easier (and rewarding) than you thought!