A Prayer to Release Resentment

Father, I have been carrying this quiet grudge so long it feels normal now, the low simmer of resentment that flares whenever I think of how I was treated, how unfair it all was.

I confess I have kept a ledger, a careful tally of who owes me an apology and what I am still owed. I have turned the offense over so many times the edges are worn smooth in my hands.

And it has cost me. The resentment colors how I see people, makes me suspicious and tired. I am holding something that was meant to be set down. I bring the whole ledger to You.

You taught me to ask for the canceling of my debts as I cancel what others owe me. So I tear up the account. I stop demanding payment for a wound only You can truly heal.

Take the simmer out of me. Replace the keeping-score with a strange new freedom.

I release every person I have been quietly billing in my mind. The account is closed. Carry what I am finally, gladly handing over. Amen.