Forgiveness

There was an interview in O Magazine this month with the parents of one of the young boys killed at Sandy Hook.   Of course, the article had me in tears and the whole thing was quite moving but one thing that truly haunted me was the mother recalling the morning of the massacre.  She said her 6 year old son, Ben, asked her what Forgiveness means....   At the time she didn't think much about the question; he was always curious and probably had heard the word in Sunday School or elsewhere but as the events of the day unfolded the "coincidence" of the question lived in her.

Powerful.  Chilling.  Provoking.

So on this beautiful fall Friday, I wanted to reflect for a moment on forgiveness.   There are so many wonderful words written on it.  My life has been extraordinarily blessed and I have not been so massively wronged that I am in a struggle to forgive.  Sure, there are people that haven't treated me well.  Sure, there are people I don't care to ever speak to again.  But I don't harbor ill-will towards them and most of the time what went wrong was either a lack of knowing better or their mistreatment led me to discover something truly better for myself.  As they say, people are either a blessing or a lesson.

Because so many have said it better than I, here are a few thoughts to share.  If you're angry with yourself, with your family, with your boss, neighbor or ex, I encourage you to let it go.   Breathe it in and release.  It does not serve you.

"Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could be any different" - Oprah

"Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die" - AA

“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” -CS Lewis

"Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude" - Martin Luther King Jr. 

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