Streams of Comfort

I don’t think that many people view hatred as a good thing. However, I think that if we have hatred towards someone, we often leave it unaddressed. We may feel guilty over it, and express that, but we don’t deal with it. We simply stop at expression and forego true healing. In this poem I explore the act of holding on to our hatred and not actively removing it. Thinking about what it does to us internally. I pray as you read, that you are encouraged to face every emotion you are experiencing, and release them to the Lord. For he cares for you.

I was confident in crocodile tears.
That they could soften hard edges,
Erode hatred,
Even right wrongs I’ve committed.
With no restraint of my unpredictable emotions,
I let them roam free,
Using remorse as a blanket,
To cover up the destruction.
But unaddressed anger and contempt consumed my body,
And crocodile tears only made my eyesight blurry,
So that I stumbled over the hatred I never acknowledged.
And it wasn’t until I wiped the tears from my eyes,
That I saw that hatred was resilient to erosion,
That it could be removed only through express intention.
So I prayed to the Lord for both strength and courage,
And relied on his love to release my burden.
I understood that his way is best,
As I reigned in my emotions,
Let go of my loathing,
And found rest.