Postponing God

Luke 6:27-28,33 – But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even "sinners" do that. (NIV)

When I read verses like this, I knew that God was expecting me to forgive my (now dead) abuser. And I did. But when He told me to go to the cemetery and lay hands and flowers on the tombstone to complete the job, I balked. Some 25 years passed. Circumstances placed me in that graveyard, and God spoke the same words to me again.

Body trembling, I forced myself to walk to the man's memorial stone. Aloud, I prayed for forgiveness for him and healing for me. "God," I said, "I am sorry. I don't have any flowers."

As I turned to walk away along the same path I had just entered, I found two silk flowers. "They'll blow away, Lord," I said, "but I will put them in place anyway." And then I noticed two small holes, equally placed, at the stone's base. I put the mauve flower in one. Mauve, for mourning, for surely God had mourned with me in the midst of the sins committed against me. And then the white one in the other opening. White, for purity, because He had made my heart pure by wiping it clean of all bitterness.

Dear ones, let us not postpone when God tells us to do something, for in that something often lies our healing.

Prayer: Father God, where we have been holding out on You, arrange our circumstances so that we can't avoid You any longer. In the precious name of your Son, Jesus, we pray. Amen.