Skip to content

The Forgiveness Detox (a short but detailed list)

I know.  How much more can one say about forgiveness?  Quite a lot actually.

I’m now discovering that forgiveness has become a big deal in more places than the blog.  As a matter of fact, even Iyanla Vanzant has instituted a Forgiveness Fridays workshop to help folks work on their forgiveness issues.

It’s official.  Releasing unforgiveness just may help you TAKE OVER THE WORLD (insert villainous laughter here).

detoxI’ve started back on my juicing regimen, and getting back into the groove of juicing is a process.  Like forgiveness, juicing has become, over the past five years, all the rage.  I remember when I first started.  I went for it.  All in (as I often do with things).  I researched what to juice, how to juice, good combinations, healing properties and on and on.  What I didn’t really get into was the immediate affects it would have on my body.  I only considered the end result of detoxing while juicing, but not necessarily the detoxification process.

I think this happens often with attempting forgiveness.  In a sense, forgiveness is a Soul Detox (that’s what Dr. B. here in Memphis, TN calls it.)  It is literally pushing the funk out (as Sound Clarity explains) and replacing it with soul healthy sustenance.  So in that same spirit. I decided to highlight some of the more, ahem, unseemly  side effects of a forgiveness detox.

  • Detoxing will drain you.  I know that may sound a little counterproductive, but when I first started juicing, about 20 minutes after I juiced all I wanted to do was take a nap.  From my research, I found that this was completely normal.  My body was so accustomed to operating on junk, that when the real stuff showed up to push the funk out, my body had to shut itself down during the process.  So it is with the forgiveness detox.  When you first start forgiving, it will drain you.  The process puts a strain on your spirit, simply because your spirit is not accustomed to operating fully on this particular principle of God; however, keep allowing the Holy Spirit and the Word in to push the grudge out and eventually your soul will be re-energized.
  • Inner spiritual detox may manifest outwardly (physically) .  This was the part I hated about starting to juice.  All of a sudden, I had zits popping up everywhere.  My breath was horrible.  I was embarrassingly gassy.  I know, too much information; however, just know the uncomfortableness of a forgiveness detox shows up in the flesh.  Because your spirit may have carried around unforgiveness so long, when the mess is being pushed out, it may show up in other areas of your life.  You may become anxious, frustrated, and short tempered, because forgiveness is hard and it reaches into deep crevices to sweep out the trash.  You may become defensive, sensitive, weepy and reactive.  Those symptoms don’t last.  But they must occur.  That’s the way you know that the detox is working.
  • The forgiveness detox will continuously push the poop out of you until you’re fully clean.  I needn’t get graphic here; however, I have to say, when you start forgiving, God will bring to your remembrance some stuff you’d forgotten about completely–old wounds and injuries, scars and even keloids.  You begin to feel and the stuff you’ve carried for years, even stuff you’ve forgotten you carried, moving its way through your spirit.  When I do my detox through juicing, I make sure that I’m always near a bathroom.  Likewise, stay close to God as you go through your forgiveness detox.  He can sooth your heart as it empties itself of all the spiritual excrement of unforgiveness. Trust me, those moments will keep coming and you will keep emptying yourself of the unhealthy grudges that have slowed down your walk and drained you of your energy.  You’ll look back and see some unsightly, smelly, pieces of toxic burdens you’ve carried, but once they are released you will feel better.
  • At the end of a detox comes clarity.  This is the good part of the detox.  If you do a strict juice detox, by day 6 you may feel like you never want to chew another piece of food.  Your mind is clear.  Your energy level is high.  You make decisions quicker and more effectively.  Your mood lightens.  You want to stay light as a feather, forever.  At the end of the forgiveness detox, the results are the same.  Your mind is no longer clouded with the offenses of others and after voiding yourself of all the mess that held you down, you’ll feel as light as a feather.  The suffering and sacrifice that accompanied the strict detox is worth the peace you get afterward.
  • Post detox you just look better.  It’s true your skin is brighter, clearer.  Your nails grow strong and long.  Your hair even looks a little shinier.  You lose unnecessary weight.  And though that’s not the entire purpose of a juice detox, it is all important in a forgivess detox.  It allows you to lose the baggage of things that slow us down from completing the purpose God has for your life.  Like the juice detox, the Forgiveness Detox gives you that same glow, except it’s on the inside.  That is the glow of God, because you’ve emptied yourself of the mess and have chosen to be filled with the spirit.  This filling causes you to greet folks with a smile, a hug, and positive affirmations on you lips.  This light keeps the song of praise in your heart and manifests itself both in your lip service and life service.
  • The next detox won’t be that bad at all.  Since my body has becoming accustomed to juicing, I don’t have the completely drain of energy anymore.  The healthy fresh juices kick in at around 20 minutes, and I feel I can conquer the world, and without coffee (most times).  The more you detox yourself of unforgiveness the easier it will be.  Your spiritual man will kick in and forgiveness will become second nature.  Your spirit will probably begin forgiving long before your flesh, your brain, even knows whats going on.  And to forgive won’t drain you.  You’ve been through it before.  Your spirit will just fall in and do whatever God tells it to.  Your concentration will be on the pure, lovely things.  Only good reports will reside in your heart, leaving no room for the junk of a grudge to hang out.  You’ve done it!  The detox results are complete.

I hope this helps you understand the process that may me taking place in your spirit as you chart your course to complete forgiveness.  Happy detoxing to you!

DiAnne

 

Published inForgiveness FridaysHer RelationshipsHer WisdomLadies Love Lists

3 Comments

  1. Ciera Shannon Ciera Shannon

    Omg this is thorough, scary and worth it. My only concern is how do I start the process and where. It’s easy to say ok I’m ready to forgive but when things get tough my normal reaction is to run and I run far.

  2. Awesome! I love the analogy of juicing with forgiveness. Yes it is a process and can be enduring…but the end results are ones in which God will be well pleased.

    Thanks Di.

  3. That second bullet point was so precise! I never really thought about how unforgiveness manifests itself outside of our thought lives. It is poisonous to the spirit.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *