Forgiveness

So you have been hurt. Ok, you have been hurt a lot. And so many times I am sure you have heard to forgive and forget. But you ask yourself how? How do I forgive the person who hurt me like this? How do you forgive someone for raping you? How do you forgive someone who cheated on you? How do you forgive someone who disrespected you? On and on the questions come. You think to yourself, there is no way that I can forgive them. Or you may even think, I can forgive BUT I will never forget! So lets take a minute and think about this and lets be open and real with eachother. Which one of these statments are true?

Forgiveness = Weakness
Forgiveness = Strength

When you hold on to the wrong that was done to you, you put a lot of your own strength to carrying that weight with you where ever you go and whatever you do. It's a burden you carry on vacation, when you are out with your loved ones and even when you sleep. You age quicker because of the stress of this burden. And while you carry this burden, the person who has wronged you has long gone forgotten all about you and is living freely. That doesn't seem right but it's the truth.

So again which one of those statements is true?

Forgiveness doesn't mean you keep putting yourself in harms way BUT to forgive is to say that you will no longer allow the wrong to control your life. You forgive the person because you realize that although they wronged you, you are making the choice to not allow what they did impact how you live your life. After you forgive, walk in wisdom. You may never forget what was done to you BUT you will have decided that through forgiveness you have let the wrong go and now you can live....freely!