Today's blog post is going to be a little different. I want you all to start off by reading this short passage:
" Forgiveness is a choice. It is not a feeling-don't try and feel forgiving. It is an act of will. "Don't wait to forgive until you feel like forgiving," wrote Neil Anderson. "You will never get there." Feelings take time to heal after the choice to forgive is made ..." We allow God to bring the hurt up from our past, for "if your forgiveness doesn't visit the emotional core of your life, it will be incomplete." We acknowledge that it hurt, that it mattered, and we choose to extend forgiveness to our father, our mother and those who hurt us. This is not saying, "it didn't really matter"; it is not saying, "I probably deserved part of it anyways." Forgiveness says, "It was wrong. Very wrong. It mattered, hurt me deeply. And I release you. I give you to God." "
A person has many different types of relationships. There are no promises that a relationship will hold only positive memories. In all relationships, whether it is with family, friends, significant others, the strengthening factor is forgiveness.
Although I read this passage multiple of times, I could not understand. God tells us to forgive, but it is not considered forgiving if I say, "I forgive, yet I do not forget." As a human, I, too, hold grudges. There are people that I do not want to be with, especially if they have hurt me in the past. So the question is this: "How am I suppose to forgive, if my action do not reflect my want to forgive?"
I turned to my best friend with this exact question. She simply replied, "God made the ultimate sacrifice with his son.We did not deserve to be forgiven, but out of love, He made that sacrifice." And then, everything clicked. God forgave me for all of my sins, yet what power do I have to say, "No, I do not want to forgive that person." If God forgives, I, too, should be forgiving one thousand times over. But once again, I am human. That is why it is best to forgive by lay your problems down to God. When the time is ready, He will fix all. Take things one step at a time.
