I Heard It on the Radio - “Brand New Day”

AT THE BOTTOM of each Truth Nugget, I give my subscribers the option to click to my Web site, forward the post to a friend, or unsubscribe. I don’t often have girlfriends opt out of my biweekly ramblings—unless I write about forgiveness.

I’ve found that my audience can be touchy about this topic. By a margin of nearly ten to one, it’s the most unpopular subject among my girlfriends. Knowing what’s coming, some of you might even wish you could click the “get me out of this” button right now. Why? I have no earthly idea.

When my girlfriends opt out, I want to ask them: Why don’t you want to explore the freedom that forgiveness will bring you? Why do you continue to punish yourself by holding on to a hurt caused by someone else? Why don’t you want to try to live with joy today, without the pain of yesterday? And why don’t you want to wake up without that ball and chain of resentment?

In his song “Brand New Day,”^a Van Morrison sings of the heartaches many of us have experienced: betrayal, victimization, abandonment, abuse, isolation. But then he reminds us that, with the right perspective, bitterness does not need to rob us of the promise of a day fully lived: “And it seems like yes it feels like, a brand new day.”

Moving on into a new day begins with forgiving the people who have wronged you. You don’t need to confront them; you don’t need to notify them; you don’t necessarily need to invite them back into your life.

If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:14-15)

You just need to let it go to wake up to a brand-new day. Wake up and look at the sun. Forgiveness is a powerful thing—for you.

I Heard It on the Radio - “Brand New Day”

From the book