FORGIVINESS

These are the five things I wanted to tell you about forgiving somebody who wronged you.

1.  Forgiving is the only way to be fair to yourself after someone hurts you unfairly.

2.  Forgivers are not doormats; they do not have to tolerate the bad things that they forgive.

3.  Forgivers are not fools; they forgive and heal themselves, but they do not have to go back for      more  abuse.

4.  We donít have to wait until the other person repents before we forgive him or her and heal      ourselves.

5.  Forgiving is a journey. For us, it takes time, so be patient and donít get discouraged if you      backslide have to do it over again.

And remember this: The first person who gets the benefit of forgiving is always the person who does the forgiving. When you forgive a person who wronged you, you set a prisoner free, and then you discover that the prisoner you set free is you. When you forgive, you walk hand in hand with the very God who forgives you everything for the sake of his Son. When you forgive, you heal the hurts you never should have felt in the first place. So if you have been hurt and feel miserable about it, our Lord himself recommends forgiving as the only way to healing.

I hope that you will try it for yourself.