Letting the Bell Rope Go

WE’VE all seen, even if just in a picture, a bell in a bell tower.
These hang up high and have a rope attached to them. To ring
the bell, the rope must be pulled down a few times. There is a
constant pulling and constant ringing of the bell. Now, after
the pulling is over and the person pulling the rope lets go, the
bell will keep swinging. The bell does not stop swinging just
because the rope is not being pulled anymore. It will swing for
a while before it slows down and eventually stops.
Forgiveness is the act of letting the bell rope go. It means
that you choose to no longer hold the rope. A lack of
forgiveness is when you constantly pull the rope. Each ring of
the bell reminds us of each wrong inflicted on us by another.
Our constant pulling of the rope keeps the wrongdoings on our
minds. Now, if we choose to let go by a decision of the will, our
emotions will still hear the bell for a little while. But, if you let
the rope go and leave it alone, after awhile, the bell will slow
down until it stops.
Don’t let the fact of the feelings of the pain get in the way of
your forgiveness. You are responsible for not constantly
ringing the bell. If you don’t pick up the rope, the sound will
die down. Sometimes forgiveness is hard because we’ve been
ringing the bell for so long that we don’t know how life is
without the bell. Sometimes we leave the bell alone for a while
but then we pick up the rope and we start all over again.