Going back to Cali

Before we get going, if it’s been a minute since you read my previous blog on resentments, kindly go back and prepare yourself for the “rest of the story” to come.

Ready?

OK.

They found it. The remnant. The teensy tiny bit of ovary left in my adorable cat, Cali , when she was spayed. It took the vet several hours to locate it, but it is gone.

And guess what? She is cured. No more moaning (unless she has caught her fake mouse and is trying to show off) or caterwauling.

We are so happy that we don’t have to give her away and our daughter will continue to speak to us . 🙃

But ever since then, an interesting and unexpected shift has occurred in her behavior.

As soon as she recovered from the surgery, she began to play with the pleasure of a kitten. She leapt and scurried and chased her own tail and wrestled her stuffed fish.

She reverted back to how she was when she wasn’t battling with the remnant that was wreaking havoc on her insides.

She looked the same, but acted, well, free.

She went back to being the “Cali” God made her to be. She seemed light-hearted. Joyful. Spirited. Frisky. Childlike. Happy. Undistracted.

It reminds me of Ephesians 4:31-32:

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

It’s ever so hard to be “kind and tenderhearted” when we harbor unforgiveness and judgment towards those who have harmed us.

I hope you took time to read (and maybe re-read) all my previous posts and my rantings and confessions on forgiveness and resentments. They might be good for you to keep handy for moments when you feel compelled to give in to the rage, the hurt, the injustice of it all.

Because, dear friend, letting go of the offense, down to the very last remnant, will do for you what it did for Cali. It will free you up to be who God made you to be: free.

I know this from experience.

I remember all to well what it was like to live with the weight of hate and anger. I remember how heavy I felt when I carried around that backpack filled with a litany of grievances.

I don’t do it perfectly and I occasionally have to root out a stray remnant, but I can honestly say that I do not live with that heaviness any longer.

Most days I choose to let it go.

It’s not usually a one and done. I have to turn it over-turn the hurt and the wounds and the offenders-over to His care and let Him take care of it all.

Otherwise, I start collecting resentments and filling that back pack up until I am weighed down once again.

Let’s commit to “going back to Cali” together.