FORGIVENESS....

Every single one of us has been in the position where something has happened or someone has hurt us in the past that we were undeserving of. And there are even times when that person or persons aren't sorry or don't think they did anything wrong... When someone tells you that you hurt them, YOU don't get to decide that you didn't.

Holding on to years of anger and bitterness may hurt the other person, but really it's hurting you the most. It's holding you back from meeting YOUR highest potential. We get caught up in "But they don't deserve it", "They didn't even try to make it right", "They never even said they were sorry", "Look at how many times they did this to me".... We hold on to unforgiveness and we forget that we can't move on to greater things if our hands are full of the past hurts. You can't find freedom if you're focusing on the person that hurt you.

There are many times you will NEVER get the "I"M SORRY" that you rightfully deserve... and trust me I know how much that hurts, but how long are you willing to hold on to the anger and bitterness while the other person goes on with their life?

Forgiveness is a CHOICE not a feeling. You can't wait for the feeling of forgiveness you have to make the conscious choice to free yourself and the other person, and when you begin to forgive it's like you've stepped out from under a squat rack. The freedom of the anger, hurt, and bitterness is taken off of your shoulders and set you free.

I watched this video on forgiveness (posted on this blog) and the part that really stuck out to me was this...

"No one has ever died from a snake bite. It's not the bite that kills, it's the venom. It sneaks into the blood stream and destroys the nervous system, resulting in death. Our life venom is the anger and bitterness from events that have happened and hurt us. It is the bitterness and anger that will be the venom that breaks you down and hold you back from meeting your highest potential."

We have to learn to forgive ourselves also.... it's okay to fail, it's okay to make the wrong choice... but it is not okay to punish ourselves and others. At the end of the day we all need to learn to say "I will try again tomorrow."

Forgive quickly... and forgive often!