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b'\\u201cBrenilia, meet me at the oak tree. Love, Emerald.\\u201d\\nShuddering, I read the words inscribed on a stone outside my cottage. Intrigue takes over. Who is Emerald? What could she want? How long I have lived alone here, I couldn\\u2019t say.\\nWrapping the warm and comforting cloak around me tightly, I trudge out. The wind blows around me, touching my skin. The cloak becomes heavier, so I tighten my grip, refusing to let go. Weightier, it becomes, as I walk up to meet the island\\u2019s visitor. I keep going until I can hardly step another step, almost collapsing as I reach the oak tree, and I see her.\\n\\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Brenilia,\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Emerald says. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153I wasn\\u2019t sure you\\u2019d make it.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d My face prickles with sweat; I am dizzy. I slide to the ground. So heavy\\u2026everything is so heavy.\\n\\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Brenilia.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d The voice is kind. I look up once again. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153You have to let go. You have been carrying too much hatred in your heart. That cloak is the cloak of your unforgiveness and still you cling to it. You have to let it go. Forgive others, and forgive yourself.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\n\\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153They hurt me,\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d I whisper. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153My family left me. My friends have gone.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d I glance up, and the woman\\u2019s dark eyes are so kind. Her clothes gleam golden as sparkling lights shine around her.\\n\\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153But Brenilia, don\\u2019t you remember what Jesus has done? Don\\u2019t you remember that His life, His death, was enough? He came so that you could be forgiven\\u2014 set free, made whole. Jesus doesn\\u2019t want you to hurt yourself anymore. He loves you. You don\\u2019t need this bitterness anymore. You\\u2019ve been living in the wilderness. Now it\\u2019s time for a change. He will help you.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\nIt\\u2019s a struggle to let go of the warm cloak, even though it\\u2019s stifling me. Once it was comfortable, but as I let go\\u2026I feel the pain, the torture I have carried for so long, release. My tears rain down; I feel the Holy Spirit beginning to heal me, and my heart is lighter. I am finally free from my own hurt and condemnation. \\u2022 Cindy Lee\\n\\u2022 Do you feel weighed down with the burden of unforgiveness? Sometimes we have to ask God to help us release offenses to Him over and over again. He loves to help us and renew our hearts. \\nFor I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Isaiah 43:19 (NLT)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\n2 Chronicles 7:11-16; Micah 6:6-8; Philippians 2:1-11'