Lesson 78 in A Course in Miracles is titled, “Let Miracles Replace All Grievances.” In this lesson it is revealed that there is a choice that is made between a miracle and the grievance.
A grievance is how you choose to respond to what has occurred in your life. Someone may have hurt or wounded you, and your reaction is to hold something against this person. This is the grievance, and “each grievance stands like a dark shield of hate before the miracle it would conceal.” The miracle is the extraordinary function which results from laying aside your grievance as you forgive and come into freedom.
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I am sure you have been hurt or wounded by another at some point in your life. This is not easily disregarded, and it often takes many years to process through painful experiences. The event or action is one aspect of this encounter, and how you choose to respond with a grievance is your responsibility. Yet in each moment that a grievance is held, dark shadows fall, and precious light is not seen.
How can you lay aside your grievances and return to the light? In this lesson it is this one who has offended you who is your savior and will bring you into the light. It is suggested that you close your eyes, “and as you think of him who grieved you, let your mind be shown the light in him beyond your grievances.” The precise words suggested are as follows:
“Let me behold my savior in this one You have appointed as the one for me to ask to lead me to the holy light in which he stands, that I may join with him.”
The offending person is in the light if you can see them as who they really are, as their true self. The lower self is what remains in the dark shadows. What they have done or left undone may be in the darkness, yet as you focus on the light beyond the dark you will be led toward your own illumination.
This is how the person you hold grievances for becomes your savior, which may be initially hard to grasp. This very encounter with darkness exposes something in you as the grievance is developed. Laying aside the grievance ushers in the light, and you are free.
The following is my paraphrase of the above prayer:
Name of person: ___________________________
Regarding: ________________________________________________________________________________
As Spirit has appointed this one, the one I have chosen to bring me pain, I seek to lay aside all my grievances regarding what s/he has done or left undone.
I ask to see the light around him/her beyond my grievances, that s/he may be my savior. I am now being led into the holy light in which s/he stands, that I may join him/her there. Remove the dark shield of grievances that I may see the miracle in the light.
I would suggest that you pray the above once, or as many times as necessary. Do this until you can sense the light beyond the darkness, and are able to say that you have:
“Let miracles replace all grievances.”
