I’m just going to get this part out of the way—I’m not an unbiased observer here. I teach the Old Testament for a living.
I found hope and solace in prayers like these: “God, knock the teeth out of their mouths . . . The righteous one will rejoice when he sees the retribution” and “Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who pays you back what you have done to us. Happy is he who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rocks” .
They need ready access to voices of the saints who have suffered also. And they need to know it’s okay to bring their darkest thoughts to our Father.Jonah’s last words in the book that bears his name are, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die” . But that’s not exactly where the story ends. Reading the book of Jonah one day it hit me like a ton of bricks. My mom called to tell me that my stepfather had repented. That he was doing better.It just didn’t seem right to me that this guy—out of all the guys in the world—would get to repent instead of suffering God’s just judgment that I’d been praying for so long. And yet he did.
Forgiveness? Yes, as God works it in your heart. Forgetting? No, I don’t think so. It’s good and wise to protect yourself, and in many cases your children, from the risk of being abused. I also don’t mean your feelings of anger or rage are invalid or inappropriate.