THE BURDEN

 

She said “I’ll never forgive that man for the hurt he has put me through. He took away all I had lived for, and he broke my heart in two.” And so in life’s journey she carried, the hate that became her cross. She hid behind her sorrow’s mask, only thinking about her loss. She never again basked in the sun, or reached with love for a child; everything beautiful in the world brought tears instead of a smile. The one rainy day God called her home, but in death she still found no peace, for the cross she’d carried through life, kept her now from gaining release. But Jesus knew what she needed, as he brought her life into view; He said “You must learn forgiveness, for I’ve always forgiven you.” She finally let go of her burden, forgiveness came from her soul, she reached for the hand of her Savior, her spirit, at last, now was whole. © Forrest Phelps-Cook George Herbert, an early 17th-century poet, wrote these lines: “He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven, for everyone has need of forgiveness.” Beautiful are the words of the Savior as He was about to die upon the cruel cross. Said He, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”