For two days now, the word forgiveness has been floating around my world, banging to get in. I have a friend who is being held prisoner by this word, and it pains me to see all this person is missing out of life by not being able to break out of this prison.
When a person can’t forgive and repair their relationships, they walk through life discarding their valuables like gum wrappers. Then, every night when they get home, they have nothing inside that really really matters. A person unable to forgive and be tolerant of their loved ones mistakes can never attain a relationship that’s deep and permanent. They can never give and receive love wholly and completely. They will live in a constant state of superficial friendships, protecting themselves from getting hurt, but, deep down, being so so alone and a victim of their prison.
It’s easy to say “I’m not a victim”, but it’s another to break the steel bands constricting your heart and put yourself out there and forgive and forge your way back to trusting that person you love so much. This takes more courage than facing physical death. But without attaining the power to forgive, a tiny lonely circle will always surround the vortex of where you live deep inside your soul. It’s easy speed up your life, surround yourself with a million people – keep running from that which is real, that which you are afraid of. It’s hard to go back to what’s real. And isn’t it a fact of life that anything real and valuable is hard? Without the power of forgiveness, you will remain empty deep inside, where it really counts.
Forgiveness is liberating. Forgiveness is freedom. Forgiveness is the key to a “no matter what” relationship. But forgiveness takes time and patience. Don’t hurry it along. Take time to explore this new kind of freedom. Try it on a few times before talking to the other person. Wear it. Feel it like a new skin. Imagine what it would be like to own it’s power, for to possess the power to forgive, is to possess the power to change your life in a truly magnificent way.
I know in my own life, if I didn’t possess the power of forgiveness, a 35 year marriage and secure, happy children, would not have been possible. It’s ridiculous to think that in 35 years my children or my husband had never let me down. Ironically, it was the “letting down” and forgiving that built these relationships, not damaged them. But without the power of forgiveness irreparable damage would have been done, and I would be alone today. Don’t underestimate the power of forgiveness.
The power to forgive builds and enriches the lives of everyone in your life. Do whatever you can to attain this power.
And so, as another day goes by, real love resides in forgiveness, and…I have written.
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