Forgiveness
As a young girl, I was picked on often. I would cry to my mom about girls who picked on me or people calling me names. It was like that through elementary and most of my middle school years. Sometimes it would even be my “closest friends” who were nasty to me yet I would still go back to them, as a friend and ask why or try to fix things between us. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.
Lately, looking back on my life and looking at what is going on in my life now, I’ve noticed a trend; that I can’t really hate anyone no matter what awful things they do to me. I’ve always tried to fix things for the better.
I believe in forgiveness and its power within me. My belief has been accumulating throughout my life particularly in my high school years. In church, I was taught to forgive others as God forgives me. That is perhaps the best lesson I have been taught. Being raised as a Christian, hearing this repeated, it finally made its impression on me.
As I get older, the childish drama minimizes and people start to grow up but there are still ridiculous issues that cause stress in my life. Just this year I had a “friend” spread a very personal secret of mine which got around to other students and people. When I heard about this I confronted the person, without anger, just simply asking why they had done this to me. Unfortunately I could not fix this relationship; she continues to be unfriendly towards me. Through all of this I noticed that no matter what she has said about me or treated me, I can’t hate her. Inside my heart I have forgiven her regardless of zero apologies. This helps me SO much in any situation, to remove this burden from my life.
By forgiving so readily whether out loud or in my heart, I lift a burden off my shoulders and it has made me so much of a happier person. Before now, I hadn’t much thought of my credo, what I live by, but now I realized how much I use this belief in my life and I love to tell about it. The experience of forgiving and asking for forgiveness has changed my life. It makes me a better person, I believe, with a better attitude towards life.
On the flip side of things, I have been the one to want the forgiveness. I understand what it is like and how awful I feel when I’m looking for the forgiveness. This, in my life has also contributed to my credo. Perhaps it was a combination of life experiences with being told over and over the importance of forgiveness that made it something natural for me something I don’t have to struggle to achieve, but something I love to live by.
Forgiveness is like breaking chains around my feet and flying away. This I believe.