forgiveness

I read this tonight on a note on a friend, Dee Dee's, facebook page. She got it from a friend Rusty who put it on his blog and I felt the need to share it as well. Without going into specifics this is exactly what I needed to hear...read. Thank you Dee Dee for sharing. And thank you to Rusty as well.

" On an unrelated, rather scatter-brained note, I've been reading a bit about forgiveness. I've concluded the following. You don’t forgive someone for their sake; you forgive them for your sake. Sometimes people think that they can’t forgive someone because it will make them vulnerable. They keep resentment in their heart to protect themselves. In other words, many people are afraid to forgive because they feel they must remember the wrong. The opposite is true. Through forgiveness, the wrong is released from its emotional chokehold on us so that we can learn from it. I don't think that forgiveness takes away scars from the pain we go through, but rather I think it is a promise we make to ourselves to no hold a grudge against someone or treat them any differently because of the wrong they did us"

I've been struggling with forgiveness lately. Struggling to forgive someone who has not asked me to forgive them. Why should I forgive someone who has hurt me so deeply when they don't even acknowledge their wrongdoing? Am I obligated to forgive them for unresolved issues? I didn't think so until I read this "You don't forgive someone for their sake; you forgive them for your sake."

I've been angry, hurt, and set on avoidance. I've wanted to remember the wrong so it doesn't happen again. It seemed to me that if I chose forgiveness that it in someway implies that I'm okay with it and that I am willing to accept it as a way of life.

Tonight I'm choosing to forgive whether that person ever really knows the depth of hurt they've caused me. So pray for me. . . and I will say thanks to a friend for letting God work through him, but more than that for putting it down into words so others can benefit from it.

I'm praying a prayer of thanks to my Savior who knows how and when to get my attention and I'm going to bed with a hopefully lighter load !