There is a pastor I know that I respect greatly, and he told the story about a counseling session he had with someone. The person was dealing with an issue that was a decision issue. Let me explain, there are issues you can’t just make a decision to move on from, and then there are issues that you will deal with daily until you decide in your heart that enough is enough.

This person was dealing with the latter kind of issue that they still wanted to cling on to, worry about, and let that issue determine their joy.

Well, the pastor I am speaking of listened to the whole story…what he/she said, did, etc. and how wrong they had been treated. The person was expecting the pastor to say some kind words, hold their hand, hug them and tell them how much God loved them and basically tell them they had every right to feel hurt, etc.

The pastor decided it was time to get real with this person and actually help them get past the issue rather that mumble some sweet words. He looked at the person asked them when did they want to move on and how much longer were they planning to keep the pity party going. He asked the person if they were going to feel sorry for themselves for ten more days, two more weeks, or six more months. When exactly were they going to “decide” to end the pity party.

You would have thought the pastor had reached over and slapped them in the face. Ha. The person got mad at the pastor and said how uncaring he was and how he should be gentler. He was about to storm out of the office. Then, the audacious thing the pastor said began to sink in and the person realized he/she could in fact choose when they were going to stop feeling sorry for themselves.

Long story short, that person decided in the pastor’s office that enough was enough and left his office with a freedom that can only be experienced when you forgive and move on. Sometimes we just need to choose how long we will let a slight or bad word from someone control our life and say enough is enough. KT