Angus Nelson

This past weekend, my Pastor talked about bitterness. That’s a pretty sketchy topic for many people, including myself.

In the past few years, I’m guilty of being bitter at people, situations and circumstances. However, since I’ve been here in Alabama, I’ve had to tackle those issues to find wholeness. Obviously, it wasn’t easy, but here’s what I found:

BITTERNESS IS…

CRITICAL – it causes you to treat everyone, with a critical eye, including yourself… You hate them, you hate you.
JUSTIFICATION – if I can blame someone else, I don’t have to take responsibility for myself.
ANCHORING – you stay attached to the past, meditating and rehearsing, unable to effectively move forward.
CRIPPLING – relationships are sabotaged as you recreate your pain through and to others.
UNFORGIVING – not just of the offense, but even of self. You can’t give what you don’t have… forgive self/forgive others.
SELF-EXALTING – a pride that places you on the throne and “them” is inferior.
SELF-CENTERED – everything becomes “about me”. Everyone around them has to walk on egg shells.
FEARFUL – who’s going to hurt me next?
POISONOUS – bitter people attempt to create more bitter people.
CANCEROUS – it eats away your very life.
LONELY – no one cares for your company any longer.

The actual meaning of “forgiveness” is “to let go”.
Do you have anything to “let go” of???

So, how about spending 4 days on an island, 14 miles off the mainland, south of Biloxi? No running water, no electricity and certainly, no air conditioning – it’s hovering around 100 degrees with humidity. This was my weekend… and I loved it!!!

Six of us enjoyed camping, fishing, hiking and most of all, playing. The first day, we got out there and set up our camp site. As soon as we arrived, two dolphins swam around our bay. They were obviously fishing, for when they got within several feet of shore, hundreds of fish would break the surface of the water clamoring over oneanother to escape the dolphin’s grasp. We ended up seeing these dolphins every morning and every afternoon. How cool.

My friend Sam Sims and I did some fishing of our own. We caught some ocean catfish, flounder, stingrays and Samatha caught a Spanish Mackrel. With my larger rod, I experienced the “big one that got away”. It was propped up in some driftwood when the rod nearly bent in half until the line snapped… the line got wrapped around the end of the rod and prevented the drag from kicking in. That fish would have been HUGE!

On the second day, we had a squall storm roll in and pound us with rain and wind up to 40 miles an hour. It blew over two of our tents. Yet, we made fun of the entire situation. Sam and I pinned the tents down with water bottles and went for a swim in the ocean while the rain and wind howled… the ocean was much warmer than the rain anyway.

This island, Horn Island, is 14 miles long and 1.5 miles wide. It was more than devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Sand choked off most trees as there were drifts of 4 to 10 feet deep. The swamp lands that make up the central part of the island were exposed and quiet. Yet, life is returning despite. We saw loads of sea life including stingrays, crabs, fish and flying pests – mosquitoes, flies and gnats… they bit us up quite ferociously the last night as we ran out of bug spray.

Note to self: It’s better to run out of water on a deserted island than bug spray.  I’d rather die of thirst than blood letting.

Overall, it was a sensational trip. An experience that is once in a lifetime, supplying thoughts and memories of all kinds of adventures.  It’s good to get out of your comfort zone once in awhile, you’ll never know of what you’re capable.