Forgiveness.

We all struggle with forgiving others. We hold grudges. We say we cannot find it in our hearts to forgive the ones who have betrayed us. We find it almost impossible to forgive the ones who have broken our hearts and torn us in half. There can be days when the betrayal consumes your mind and fills your heart with hate. Forgiving others may not even be an option for you. Showing forgiveness is a sign of courage. Holding grudges does not make you a stronger person, it makes you bitter. You are bettering yourself by forgiving the ones who have hurt you.

To all of the ones who I have hurt —

I am so sorry for what I have said and done to you. I am sorry if I have ever hurt you with my words or actions. I apologize for the way I may have treated you or if I ever made you feel like you are any less of the perfect person God made you to be. I have realized that in the midst of my actions and choices I have made in my life, I was so full of hatred. I thought that the things I was doing were right and the things that I said made sense. Looking back, I realize I was wrong. I admit that I was not in the right mindset to have done those things. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

To the ones who have hurt me —

Words cannot explain the unconditional love I have for you. No matter the endless nights staying up crying and pondering all of the things I did to deserve what you did or said to me. No matter the heartache I suffered from. No matter the emotional and mental pain you caused me. None of that matters anymore. The sorrow and pain you caused me has made me such a strong person. You have made me stronger and I thank you for that. I forgive you. I forgive you for what you said to me and for your actions against me. The love that I have for you is endless. You are still a child of God, just as I am. We mess up. We make mistakes. Everyone deserves a second chance and everyone deserves to be forgiven. Even if you are not sorry for what you did, I still forgive you. I am still going to show you love and kindness.

“Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

I believe forgiveness is an expression of love. An expression of mercy. Imagine the world without grudges. Imagine a world with mercy and love. Think about how amazing that would be. God showed us mercy and forgiveness by dying on the cross. He died for us so that we could be saved. That is the ultimate expression of love, mercy, and forgiveness.

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” -Colossians 3:13