There is a certain catharsis that hits our soul when we allow forgiveness in. An unforgiven  heart holds us hostage, held in the stage where the grievance happened. For some it can take a day, for others it can take years to offer forgiveness. There is not set recipe for how we are to forgive, we are just told to do it. Matthew 6:14 says “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you”. It is hard. We want justice, we want vengeance. Doesn’t someone see what they did? Yes, someone does.  He will take care of it. We loose our sense of mobility when we get caught up in the when’s and the why’s. We do not move forward.

There is a flip side of this coin. We are humans and so often need to be forgiven of something. I am not a person who does anything half way. When I do something, I either do it big or I fail big. I haven’t learned a middle ground yet. When I burn a bridge (or person who is on the bridge) I do it in massive portions. I wondered why I could not move forward.  I kept trying but was pulled back several times. I had to turn back and apologize. There is no where in the Bible that states God’s forgiveness is dependent on the recipient reaction. They could shut the door on you and that be the end of the conversation. They are in control because after all, they are the ones who were hurt. The release in us comes when we say those words “will you forgive me”. Four words that humble us, bring us to our knees and acknowledge that we are not as infallible as we like to think.

I offered those words this week. The outcome was so much greater than I ever could have asked for. I am now able to move forward where God wants me. I am now able to re-create bridges that I thought were long gone. The person who received an apology can heal, knowing that their pain was acknowledged and avenged. There is no loosing in this situation.

I was encouraged this week by God’s mercy and grace. If they could forgive me, how much more has the Father forgiven me?