Forgive? How can we forgive

someone who has hurt us deeply

Why should we even try

We feel like we have a right

to be angry

and usually we do

But let's take another look

How do we feel when

we aren't ready to forgive

or don't even want to

think about it

If you are like me

our stomach is in knots

and we have this deep

anger that eats away at

any joy or peace we might

be able to feel

When we forgive we

aren't saying what they

did was right or dismissing it

We're not saying it didn't

cause us alot of pain

But we are saying

We are not going to keep reliving

the incident and letting

this person keep hurting

us for the rest of our life

Most of the time this

person must have some

deep problems of their own

Eventually we are able to

feel compassion for them

There is a relief and a sense

of gratitude to Jesus

for giving us the gift of

forgiving others

I don't believe we can do

it with out him

It also gives us

strength knowing we were

able to forgive someone

A sense of accomplishment

But I have found this takes

time and work

So, maybe it is worth thinking about

and I always remember how

many times Jesus has forgiven me

I guess I could try and give to

others what he has given me