National Forgiveness Day: For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you…. Matt. 6:14-15
We must remember that forgiveness is a journey towards spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical well-being. (nationaldaycalendar.com).
Spiritually we are encouraged to forgive people several times a day if necessary. Mentally, forgiveness frees us from the fear of running into them again. Emotionally, forgiveness takes the guilt away. Physically, forgiveness affects our brains, hearts, and how we feel about ourselves.
It has been my experience that true forgiveness is:
- Acting like the offense never happened. Not like amnesia. When I hear their name, their voice, or some gossip about them, I do not participate. When I run into them at Walmart. I don’t avoid them. I don’t seek them out. I show myself to be friendly. I speak to them with LOVE.
- Pray for them. 🙏 I remember that I will always need the forgiveness of GOD. We pray to forgive our part in it. We pray for understanding from them and us.
- Remember. Do not let it happen again. This is my favorite. The Bible speaks a lot about forgiveness. The cause and effect. The damage to the soul. The separation from God’s plan. I have not discovered God saying, “Forget it ever happened.” We have to remember the betrayal, the lies, the pain, and every demoralizing moment when a piece of us died. We remember, so we never let it happen again. We never lower ourselves so others can be seen. We never again accept the lies when it’s TRUTH that makes us free.
Forgive and forget is a human idea.
Forgiveness is a spiritual ideal.
Forgiveness is never complete.
We will never wave the flag of surrender, but we will wave our victory banner.
I believe that we are better than unforgiveness.
I encourage you, sisters’ to forgive those in the past.
Forgive those right now.
Grow and be ready to forgive those in the future. 🌱
Not because we have to, but because we CAN. 🫶🏽
