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Is Someone Living Rent-Free in Your Head?
In Robert Burns’ Tam o’ Shanter, he describes Tam’s wife, Kate, as “nursing her wrath to keep it warm.” It’s a sharp image of how anger lingers when we choose to feed it.
History offers us a very different picture in Corrie ten Boom. During the Holocaust, she and her family hid Jews in their home, a choice that led to Ravensbrück concentration camp and the death of her sister Betsie. Out of that suffering, Corrie discovered the power of forgiveness.
Years later, she faced it head-on when a former guard approached her, asking for forgiveness. In that moment, every memory of cruelty returned. Forgiving seemed impossible, until she remembered Jesus’ words, “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Praying for strength, she took his hand. What followed was a release only God could give.
We know this struggle. Someone wounds us, and we replay it, nursing the hurt. Yet while we carry the burden, the other person may have moved on. In truth, unforgiveness chains us, not them.
Jesus calls us to a freer way. When Peter asked if forgiving seven times was enough, Jesus replied, “Not seven, but seventy-seven.” Forgiveness isn’t keeping score; it’s keeping your heart open.
Forgiving doesn’t mean the pain didn’t happen. It means refusing to let it rule you. As Corrie said, forgiveness is the key that unlocks resentment’s prison. She didn’t erase Ravensbrück by forgiving—she simply refused to carry it into her future.
Forgiveness is rarely easy. Sometimes it’s a daily choice, sometimes a whispered prayer: “Lord, help me forgive.” But you’re not asked to do it alone. Jesus Himself forgave from the cross, and He offers us that same strength.
So, who’s living rent-free in your head? Maybe it’s time to let them go. Forgiveness isn’t just a gift to them—it’s freedom for you.