Forgiveness

Forgiveness. What comes to your mind? I'm sure in your lifetime, you've either hurt someone or been hurt by someone. Sometimes it's hard to let it go and forgive, isn't it? In the Bible it says that we should forgive for Christ died to forgive us of our own sins. And when I say sins, he covered it all from cussing to murder. Think about your day....what was it like? Did you get mad at the car in front of you and shout obscene things? Did you say something to a friend, spouse or significant other that you didn't mean, it just came out? None of us lived a perfect day, I don't care who you are!!!
Oprah recently had a man on her show who lost his wife and one of his sons to being shot as they were returning home from a celebratory dinner for a college graduation. As this man, Kent, was sitting in the hospital with a gunshot wound, he shared on the show that he made a choice that he was going to forgive the person that had killed two of his nearest and dearest family members as well as shot him and his other son. Kent soon found out that it was his surviving son that plotted the entire murder. I will spare you the details but here is the point....Kent did forgive his own son for what he had done because he knew that's what God wanted him to do and he also knew that it would help him in the healing process. He stated at one point that "Life is too good to walk around holding a grudge against someone." As I was watching this, my thoughts were consumed with thinking how in the past, I have been hurt by some of my own family members. The ones you want to think would do anything for you and yet it wasn't that way and it still doesn't seem that way. I do feel like I've forgiven them in my heart because, you see, I don't even think that this one particular person knows the extent of the hurt he has caused to some of his own family. If you are reading this and you know that you are carrying a chip on your shoulder over something that may have just happened today or years ago, forgive that person and go on. You will feel much better and be happier in life. If you feel like you may have hurt someone, go to them or write a letter and ask for forgiveness. Life is too short!