Miracles News

April-June, 2016

Forgiveness Is Our Only Function

by Rev. Linda Wisniewski, O.M.C.

Rev. Linda Wisniewski Workbook Lessons 121 and 122 state: “Forgiveness is the key to happiness” and “Forgiveness offers everything I want.” I had an experience I would like to share that demonstrates the truth of these two lessons.

I received a call for help. The woman said she was feeling anxious and depressed. I told her that I wasn’t a therapist and if she was that depressed, I suggested she receive professional help that I was not qualified to give. However, she was resistant to going to a psychologist or a psychiatrist and since she denied having suicidal thoughts, I thought I could offer her support through working with ACIM. She said she wanted to get back to the Course and believed that would help relieve her problems as it did in the past.

However, after a few weeks of her calling me several times a day, I became shaken and felt overwhelmed. I was guided to call a minister whom I respected who told me she had a similar situation and had to release her student after suggesting professional help. After talking with this Minister, I felt at peace.

I also asked Holy Spirit to help me with what to say to the woman. However, it wasn’t long after that the ego reared it’s fearful and guilty thoughts and told me: “How can you abandon her; she is calling for love; what kind of minister are you?” And, I fell for this egoic message.

From a place of guilt and fear, I continued to receive her calls and share Course material with her. I also continued to suggest professional counseling. But the calls for help increased and so did her anxiety and mine. I couldn’t sleep because I felt so guilty thinking she would be abandoned if I didn’t continue to work with her.

I continued to go to Spirit, but I was in such fear and guilt that I couldn’t really receive Spirit’s message. But the thought came up to offer this woman an Accessing Inner Wisdom Counseling session that Pathways of Light ministers are trained in and it doesn’t take the place of professional therapy.

She agreed and during the session it came out several times that she wished she were dead. Then I knew I was over my head and I couldn’t help her. I was also guided to ask another minister who was a professional psychologist for her professional opinion. She also agreed that this woman needed professional help I wasn’t equipped to give.

Again, I felt so shook up and the feelings of guilt and believing I would abandon her came up. Then, I knew, these feelings weren’t about her. There was something in me that needed to be healed. Her story was triggering fear in me and this is what I took to Holy Spirit for forgiveness.

During the night, I was awakened with a memory of a time I was also very severely depressed and kept calling a dear friend for help and support. I too, was afraid to seek professional help.

I grew up in a home with a father who was diagnosed with manic depression and kept telling me I was crazy and belonged in mental institution. My friend eventually told me she couldn’t continue to talk with me because she was also getting triggered with fear as she grew up with a mom who was committed to a psychiatric hospital.

At the time, I felt so guilty for feeling so depressed and the effects it was having on my family. I felt frightened that if I sought professional help, I would be committed. I felt betrayed and abandoned by my friend. All this fear and guilt was coming up for forgiveness of Linda’s story around mental illness, and belief she was alone and abandoned.

Holy Spirit reminded her that everyone in the story, who were all really aspects of herself, were all innocent, including this woman who was calling for love, like I had. And God answers every call for love with Love.
In my situation, I did go for professional help and a breakdown led to a break-through and finding ACIM. The Course helped me realize that all illness is a form of mental illness because it is coming from the belief that we separated from our Source of Love and from this comes feelings of abandonment, fear and guilt.

I also was asked to look at my motivation. If I’m answering a call for Love out of fear and guilt, this is not really extending love. It’s only ego’s way of making it feel better by believing it is fixing someone else. So, now I am learning that before I answer a call for Love, if I’m coming from fear, that’s the clue to take it to Holy Spirit because there is something that needs forgiveness. “Forgiveness offers everything I want;” Forgiveness is the Key to Happiness.” (W-pI.121,122)

Holy Spirit also led me to Chapter 28 (The Undoing of Fear) Section IV: The Greater Joining. In paragraph 1 it states:

“Accepting the Atonement for yourself means not to give support to someone’s dream of sickness and of death.” (1)

“Unless you help him, you will suffer pain with him because that is your wish.” (6)

”And you become a figure in his dream of pain, as he in yours.” (7) …”for you share in dreams of fear.” (10)

Because I hadn’t forgiven myself for my own fears and guilt about depression, I was being sucked into this woman’s dream story.

After working on forgiveness with Holy Spirit, I awoke in such peace and felt free.

Soon after, the woman called me again and I gently told her that I just wasn’t qualified to help her, especially from a long distance and that I gave her resources where she could seek some professional help. I also sent her resources and phone numbers listing all the places in her County where she could get help. I hung up the phone and this time there was no guilt or fear. I trusted she is under Holy Spirit’s Care and will be guided for her highest good and healing. I put her in the Light and saw her as Innocent and Whole.

That evening, I received a text from her thanking me for my help and support.

Thank you Holy Spirit for Your help, support and Love. “There is no love but God’s.” (WB lesson 127)

Rev. Linda Wisniewski is a Pathways of Light minister living in Plymouth, Wisconsin. Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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