Water and Rivers of Forgiveness

I am at one of my most favorite places in this big and beautiful world. It’s a thin piece of land nestled between two rivers and a stone’s throw from the Atlantic Ocean. A pod of dolphins leap and frolic in the rivers companioning me on my morning walks. Sunlight moves and dances on the water of the rivers. Colorful mangoes weigh heavily on the branches of the trees and roaming peacocks dazzle me with their beauty. The movement of beauty on both land and water elicits wonder and awe that reaches far back in time and draws forth echoes from the Garden of Eden. 

I am particularly drawn to the way water flows in the river. The water moves and animates the river differently each day. Some days she flows fast and furious, beating a crashing cadence against the shores. Other days there is a gentle movement on the water and light has a greater surface to shimmer and shine. Sometimes the water barely flows and the light dances like diamonds on the water.

Water is beautiful, powerful, and vital to life.

Water is also a theme in Scripture that begins in the garden and is woven throughout the biblical story. In the Old Testament water is often presented as a gift from God. In the New Testament water becomes a sign of rebirth in Jesus’ baptism. Jesus calls himself Living Water—“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” At Jesus’ crucifixion, a Roman soldier thrusts a spear into his side, and both blood and water flow out from him. It seems to symbolize how Jesus’ death is a fountain of life, the waters of forgiveness that cleanse our lives and hearts. 

Like Living Water, there is something powerful about forgiveness. Forgiveness is truly at the heart of the kingdom of God. The coming of God’s kingdom ends humanity’s downward spiral of getting even. I think Jesus fully intends that the forgiveness that he gives to us is to be built out into the world to others as part of his movement.

In the Lord’s prayer given in Luke, there is a little addendum to the prayer where Jesus says if you refuse to forgive someone your heavenly Father will not forgive you. He does not say if you struggle with forgiving, or if it takes a long time to forgive, Jesus says if you refuse. What this shows is that the one who refuses has not internalized the grace and the forgiveness that has been given to them.

Apparently, for Jesus, one of the #1 signs that the grace of God has really sunk in and been internalized is the ability to receive forgiveness and then give it out that same pipeline to others. Forgiveness is what God’s love looks like in a fractured world: reconnection—with God, Self, others, and all of creation.

Henri Nouwen reminds us that forgiving does not mean forgetting. When we forgive a person, the memory of the wound might stay with us for a long time, even throughout our lives. But forgiveness changes the way we remember. It converts the curse into a blessing. When we forgive our parents for their divorce, our children for their lack of attention, our friends for their unfaithfulness in crisis, and our doctors for their ill advice, we no longer have to experience ourselves as the victims of events we had no control over. Forgiveness allows us to claim our own power and not let these events destroy us; it enables them to become events that deepen the wisdom of our hearts.

Richard Rohr states that “among the most powerful of human experiences is to give or to receive forgiveness…When we forgive, we choose the goodness of the other over their faults, we experience God’s goodness flowing through ourselves, and we also experience our own goodness in a way that surprises us. That is an awesome coming together of power, both human and divine.”

The similarities and connections between water and forgiveness are striking. 

Water is essential to the human body and is needed for every cell, tissue, and organ to function properly. Forgiveness is vital for an abundant life and way of relating to God, self, and others. 

As water lubricates and cushions our joints, forgiveness lubricates and cushions the hurts and resentments so our relationships can flow freely and unencumbered.

As water flushes out waste products, forgiveness can flush the wastes of sin and misdeeds away.

As water maintains our blood pressure, forgiveness helps maintain the equilibrium of our relationships.

As water protects our organs and tissues cushioning the brain, spinal column, and other sensitive tissues, forgiveness cushions the hurts and wounds so they can heal.

As water supports our skin health, forgiveness supports the health and vitality of our relationships sweeping up the judgements, regrets, or pain. 

As water reduces the risk of infections, forgiveness keeps clear infectious resentments and bitterness that can build up inside.

On the waters of forgiveness, we encounter the Forgiving God flowing through us, opening us to the availability of Life Everlasting.

Questions to ponder:

Whom do you need to forgive?

Where do you need to seek forgiveness?

What impact has forgiveness or unforgiveness had on your life?

Inspiration

Is it Your Turn to Forgive Me

Is it your turn to forgive me
or
is it my turn to forgive you?

I can’t remember either.

To be safe we better just forgive
each other at the exact same time.

Here’s how:

We will hold hands
so that your wrist
presses right up 
against mine.

And now we wait
until our pulses
match each other.

And now we close our
eyes and pretend
that our veins are
rivers of empathy

and now the seasons are changing

and now the mountains are melting

and now the water is rising

and now the rivers are growing together

and now the barren
space we let grow
between us is being
flooded with stretching
vineyards of clemency

and now exotic wildflowers
are growing everywhere

everywhere
everywhere
everywhere

and now all we know is an ocean

and now we are swimming
in the same tides of understanding

and now the two of us are endless again

and now we are the
newborn children of forgiveness

open your eyes
look down at our wrists
wrapped around each other

and now I forgive you
and now you forgive me

and now I see you
and now you see me

and now can’t you feel it?

~ this rising river
~ this rolling ocean
~ this endless us

this rushing mercy

~ john roedel 

I am here to serve your soul in whatever ways you might need or long for … spiritual direction, spiritual companionship, leadership coaching, enneagram coaching, Ignatian Spiritual Exercises guide, and guided retreats. What does your soul need? What does your soul want? 

Flowing in the Rivers of Forgiveness, Becky