Warning: Corny Metaphor Ahead (Smile)

  “All I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” 1 Corinthians 13:12

  Yesterday’s message by Danielle Strickland was thought provoking and insightful. It also affirmed a huge piece of what makes me who I am.

  After I was first diagnosed with PTSD, I took advantage of a local Cognitive Behaviour Therapy group. The purpose of this secular therapy option is to learn how to identify toxic thinking. The next step is to test the idea as to whether or not it is true. The final step is to replace the original stinkin’ thinkin’ with truth and repeat the truth over and over until the old belief gets wiped away. There’s even a chart to fill out to work through these various steps, relying on human reasoning.

  As a believer, I utilized this tool for a while but I wasn’t happy because my main questions were never answered. I needed to know why and how the lies had become my truth.

  Oh.

  Without knowing the why or how or what happened that birthed un-Godly beliefs, I cannot know who to forgive. For me, letting go isn’t the same without it because I firmly believe knowing who to forgive and doing so is an act of release that can only be accomplished by love. In my experience, forgiving, or learning to act in and out of love, is also a process as much as it is a choice. I have modified CBT to reflect the calling of my faith with the quest to forgive, to love others and myself at its very core. There is also another aspect of forgiveness which is really important: knowing when to ask for it.

  I don’t use the chart but rely heavily on the Holy Spirit for revelation because human reasoning on its own is inadequate. It can be influenced by mis-understanding. He has never let me down.

  Danielle even used an onion metaphor for the letting go process which is one of my favorites because you know what happens when you peel an onion? Tears flow. They fall freely to wash way the sting. (I know this has been mentioned this many times before. (Smile.) It bears repeating.)

  And that’s the thing about the lies we believe, they are often reinforced through many different experiences. Yup, onion layers. That’s how they become our truth.

  I’ve also just thought about how onions grow. An onion set, grown from seed, is planted. The set grows in layers. Sometimes the onion is confused and it ends up with a layer of skin somewhere in the middle. The onion believes it has reached its full, stinky potential then along comes the devil, with an evil smirk on his face, saying, “You're not finished yet!”  Wham! Something happens to make the onion continue growing. (Not that onions are self aware but it's okay to have some fun with this.)

  Well, I’ve got news for him. God isn’t finished with me yet, either.

  And another idea has popped into my head. Adding onions makes a terrific soup or stew. Soup doesn’t taste the same without them. Mind you, I like the taste of onions. Some people may not. (Smile.)

  Hmmm…that’s interesting. Somewhere along the line I developed rather black and white thinking about what is good and bad. A weedy dandelion bloom is elevated to the level of a most expensive rose when a toddler gives it to their parent. (I can't help but laugh because, folks, sorry, I couldn’t come up with a metaphor using onions to demonstrate the idea.)

  Out of all this nonsense, I think I finally know exactly what redemption is. It’s making a nourishing and soul comforting soup out of onions. The best part, it's not something to be done on my own because the Holy Spirit and Jesus and a Father who loves me will stir the pot, making sure it never, ever burns.