I grew up in a deeply broken family. My childhood was violent and left its mark on me. All the years of disjointed and bruised life caused great instability in me. I was a drifting object. Surviving was my daily life.
Alone and desperate, I shouted my anger against an unknown God. “I don’t know who you are. Where were you when I was five, when I was raped and abandoned and placed in an orphanage? Where were you when I was put in prostitution as a child and adult? If you exist, do something for me!”
Nothing happened then, but in the days that followed, I felt a great kindness invade me. I felt worthy of being loved. Someone trusted me! This encounter with Jesus Christ kindled new life in my spirit.
God proved His existence to me again and again. When I left prostitution as an adult, a pimp tried to strangle me. A invisible presence threw him a few meters from me. In a barely audible voice he said to me, "What have you done? I am losing my strength." I answered him, "It is Jesus Christ." He fled.
Forgiving those who hurt me released me from the anger and the rage that consumed me. Now, I don't let myself be engulfed in offense. I live reconciled with myself, and therefore with others.
Here are the steps of the class:
1. Be free of fear of failure and shame
Shame makes us believe that we are a mistake, a failure, inadequate.
2. Embrace forgiveness as a lifesytle
Releasing the other person from the harm they've done to you doesn't mean that you are a victim again.
3. Heal your emotions
Paradigms fuel our perceptions and our perceptions fuel our emotions. Most of our emotions are a reaction to what we perceive. If our perception is wrong, so will be our emotional reaction.
4. Experience inner fullness
This is expressed in our spirits by a deep peace that stabilizes and gives the assurance that your spiritual, emotional, and physical wholeness are not threatened. The Holy Spirit expresses in us the dignity of God, which is the antidote to shame.