“Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.”

Mel Robbins

    Forgiveness is not easy, and anyone who tells you otherwise probably was not that angry to begin with; my journey towards forgiveness has been rocky, to be sure. But I do not want you to think I am asking you to consider doing something that I have not had to do myself.  My childhood was rough; a lot happened to me that no child should experience; one of those events was when my day left us when I was eight.  I only saw him sporadically for the next 16 years.

      I blamed him for not being there to protect me from all the crap that I endured.   When my first child was born, I had a decision to make, stay angry with my dad, I mean, who would blame me.  There was a part of me that wanted to hold on to my anger and continue the cycle of pain and abandonment. I was used to those feelings; they felt safe, but how could I do that to my son? Have you become comfortable with your anger?

       I chose to forgive, and my children have some of the best memories of Papa J.T. he never missed a church play or baseball game; he was the one they called when they missed the bus for school.  And he and I patched up our relationship, which was so wonderful; when he died, I had no regrets.

     No regrets, which was a beautiful side effect of me forgiving him, we developed a lovely relationship that we could not have had without me forgiving him.  I will always be grateful.  

If you chose not Failing to forgive will make you miserable. Creating and maintaining negative thoughts doesn’t feel good. Pleasant thoughts support an excellent mood. By refusing to forgive the person that wronged you, you’re harming yourself.

You’ll be stronger. Forgiveness can be challenging! Staying angry is easy in a certain way. Show yourself just how strong you are. Take a deep breath and forgive. It becomes easier with time.

    Don’t let anyone tell you that forgiveness is easy; it is not, but if you want to get on with your life and create something beautiful without regrets, let go of the comfort of your anger and forgive the person that hurt you, remember forgiveness is for you.

With Love and Peace,

Renee