Forgiveness

I experience two extremes when talking about forgiveness to families. There are those who think they have forgiven but haven’t. Then there are those who know they haven’t forgiven. The latter either believes it is impossible for them to forgive or are not willing to forgive. It is important to understand what forgiveness means. Forgiveness does not say that what happened was okay. Forgiveness does not give the persecutor permission to continue hurting us. Forgiveness does not mean that those involved have to become best friends. Forgiveness is all about the person who has been harmed. Forgiveness is a gift that we give ourselves. We make a decision that we do not want to carry resentments around any longer. Resentments rob our emotional buckets of joy and peace. Forgiveness allows us to move past terrible situations. Forgiveness allows us to heal. Many times forgiveness opens the door to restoration of relationships. Carl Menninger (unsure of exact quote) - “ If patients in psychiatric hospitals would believe that their sins could be forgiven, 70% of them could walk out the next day.” United News International KRSS March 6, 2009 - “Forgiveness is God’s gift to us to be able to live in a world that is not fair.” Find out more about forgiveness in my August, 2011 Love in Action Newsletter http://bit.ly/njHTGd