Waves of Gratitude

Everyone at one time or another in their life has felt they were wronged. It may have been on a large or small scale, but in order to move past it one thing must occur. There needs to be forgiveness.

I heard a news story years ago about a woman who had been kidnapped. She was beaten, tortured, raped, and starved for days and then left for dead on the side of the road. The ordeal left her blind. The interviewer asked her how she dealt with the anger she must be feeling at having been treated this way. She said she forgave her attacker. She stated that he took 72 hours of her life. If she did not forgive him, then he would take more of her life. Forgiveness not only heals, it allows us live our life. If we choose not to forgive we cannot move forward and we allow the person who wronged us once, to continue to hurt us. This applies even if, and maybe especially if, the person who has wronged us feels no remorse or is not asking for the forgiveness.
In light of recent news about bullying and how that has led to teens and young adults feeling so much pain they take their own lives, forgiveness is needed even more in this world. If we can teach our children that what others say about them doesn’t make them who or what they are, and to forgiving those who bully, maybe then we can give them the confidence to not let what others do and say affect their own actions.