Why do we continue to hurt each other?

I can only answer for myself.
Pride.

Revenge.

Bitterness..

A wounded, wincing heart, afraid to trust again..

Pain.

I have been reading from the blog A Holy Experience for the last two months. It is like an absorbing, curative balm; --this woman's words challenge me, encourage me and press my aching heart towards my Heavenly Father..it is not always easy to read because I see where I need to let God wriggle down into my heart's nooks and crannies and

heal

me..

Someone told me a long, long time ago that hurt people, hurt people. So true. So very true.

Whether it's words or banishment from their lives, they inflict pain, because they themselves hurt terribly inside..

I do this to my husband. I hurt inside, I use words like a club. Or I banish him from me. To punish him. If you are a married woman, you know of what I speak.

Now we are alright, but for a season, our marriage was a tangled mess of pain.

Many tears, words of forgiveness, more tears and lots of prayer, helped overcome our bruises.

The key, however, was that one of us brought it out and offered forgiveness. One of us wanted it to get healthier, to be more like Jesus..

When I read Ann Voskamp's post today entitled "How hurting women can help each other heal"

I wanted to weep...I had to swallow the lump in my throat. Maybe it'll come out when I drive to town alone in a few minutes. It was

Powerful.

I offer to you, one of the writers Ann highlights today in "A Commitment of Words" from the post titled What Will We Do With Our Words?

It hit me to the core of my self.

I pray it will you as well.

A Commitment of Words

We commit to using our words to defend and heal, not to harm.

We will not gossip.

We will not belittle.

We will guard our sisters by always speaking the best about them, encouraging them into all God would have them to be, and offering grace instead of condemnation.

We will be loyal and loving, remembering that even if we disagree we still fight on the same side–never against each other.

We will use our words to build up not tear down, to bring hope and not hurt.

We offer our words as a powerful weapon to fight for each other on the side of all that is good, right, and true.

From the blog http://www.incourage.me, December 7, 2010 post

He is faithful,

Bonnie