The Gift of Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a gift from God. We, in our humanity, do not have the capacity to forgive completely. Ironically, even when granted the gift to be willing to forgive, we must still be progressive in our attitude, action and behaviors towards the person and/or persons we have forgiven. "I can forgive but I will never forget" is the mantra of those who want to partially hold a person accountable for their deed against them. Total forgiveness calls us to forgive and to forget. That the grace that God gives us. Not allowing us to put ourselves in harm's way again but to not hold the offense fresh in our Spirit and/or be reminded of it each time we see or hear of the person. This is true forgiveness. When asked to bring to my rememberance someone who has hurt me deeply in the past, I can honestly say that no one came to mind. I truly have released many of the ghosts of offense that I held hostage in the graveyard of my soul. I don't believe that I could have remained sane if I did not forgive. So as we move forward, I wish to all that we would begin where we are and learn to forgive ourselves, receive forgiveness from our God, and learn progressively how to forgive others.