During the prior week, I had been reading in Thessalonians in our Bible Study. It seems whenever I am reading passages in the Bible, the Lord always give me a practical application of it in a short time either for myself in my own situations, or for someone else to give them encouragement. I had specifically noticed and made note of these two verses:

1 Thes 5:15
"Be sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else."

2 Thes 1:6-7
"God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you, and give relief to you who are troubled."

Earlier on the morning that I met this woman at the pool, I had been reading the word for the day from my church, and this is the scripture that jumped out at me:

Matthew 7:2
"For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you."

Don't you love it when the Lord shows you something so clearly, and you get it? The Lord had been speaking to me about how to respond to this woman all week prior to meeting her! I had no right to judge her, or hold anger toward her. It was up to the Lord to deal with her, not me. When we respond with judgment and unforgiveness in our hearts, it affects OUR relationship to God (not the other person).  It becomes OUR burden, and we then become the 'perpetrator' or the person responsible. It becomes something that causes separation between God and us.

In our classes at Living Waters Ministry, we learned these steps to forgiveness:

1. Forgive the person that hurt you (in this case, the woman who hurt my Mom)
2. Repent of your sin response (judgment and anger) 
3. Release the person to the Lord's care and capable hands - let it go

I would encourage you to stop right now and think about how this story might relate to something you’ve experienced in your own life. You could ask God to show you if there is anyone you have judged or have unforgiveness toward today.  Then go through the steps to release them to the Lord.  This is about YOUR relationship to God, YOUR freedom, and YOUR health! We don't want God's judgment on us. We want it to go to the right person!

When you have truly given the person over to God, you are free of the burden, and you will feel it! It doesn’t mean that you condone or accept what they have done; but you are free to hate the sin, and love the sinner….. just like Jesus did.

I was glad that God had prepared me for meeting this woman, and for showing me His way of handling it.

Wendy Farr