Family Forgiveness and Cleansing Rain

Once on a family vacation, we experienced a midnight thunderstorm. Awakened by the sound of heavy rain, I went out onto the screened-in-porch with our two older children, then eight and ten years old. Sheets of rain poured down in front of us like a thick clear wall. Surrounded by water on three sides, yet cozy and dry under the protection of the porch, we stood for thirty minutes mesmerized by the solid downpour. Lightening brightened the sky periodically, followed by booming thunder in the distance. It was glorious. While we were enchanted by nature’s natural drumbeat and luminous sky show, it was the rain showers that made their mark that night. Not a drop of water touched us, yet we felt cleansed, as though the massive amounts of water purified us.
Just like spring rains bathe and freshen the earth, forgiveness too is a powerful human cleanser. Forgiveness helps us shed emotions, clear out and heal, and focus on the good things. Emotional clarity flows from rains of forgiveness. Let me explain. After several painful years, one of our sons phoned home from college to individually ask each family member, parents and sibs alike, if we would forgive him for his difficult behavior when he was a teen. He vividly recalled many of the arduous and trying incidents, reminding us of their detail, some of which we had chosen to forget. While the four of us individually told him that we forgave him, he reassuringly asked each of us a second time to forgive him, as if to permanently reassert the fact in his own mind.
It was just like the thick wall of spring rain on our porch. Liberated from negative emotions, now washed away, our son felt cleansed. Time and energy for positive interactions returned. For too long, negative feelings and events consumed his time. Letting go of them caused a purification to occur. Clarity was available to him now. The heavy rains of forgiveness freed him.
Just as the spring solstice is a new beginning, forgiving another family member opens the door to positive energy and intention. Shedding painful memories creates a sense of peace in the present. It frees one up for the beauty to return to the relationship, much like the arrival of long awaited spring. But don’t hang around for the person who has caused the damage to ask for forgiveness. This could consume a lifetime, as though the puffy clouds dash by and never let loose their rain. Forgive now and experience a sense of peace and joy in the present. The message is clear: Be cleansed by the rains of forgiveness.
Have you experienced the inner joy of being forgiven? Have you recently been the forgiver? How did each feel? Do you care to share you’re your experiences here? Read about forgiveness in an excellent book entitled “Forgive For Good” by Fred Luskin, Ph.D. or check out his website @ http//www.learningtoforgive.com/.