July 8, 2023
“With each opportunity before me, God presented me with a choice. I could accept his offerings, his wisdom, his grace. Or I could choose to hold onto the pain, the anger and the resentment a little longer.”
– Sharon E. Rainey
Saying “I’m sorry” is never easy. It’s probably harder than accepting an apology when someone else says “I’m sorry” to us.
Forgiveness is such a complex thing, and yet it’s such a simple thing. Forgiveness frees us from resentments, anger and grudges, which corrode our inner peace and contribute to poor health and prolonged stress. There are many studies that prove resentment is harmful to our health and mental well being, but the simplest way to look at it is to accept the premise we aren’t meant to live that way … even negative feelings are pervasive in our society.
The inability to forgive can become a dark cloud hovering above our healing journey. Some people go to their grave, clinging to grudges, while other people cling to grudges even after the person they’re angry with dies.
You can try to justify your resentment, you can try to bury it in distractions, you can justify it years after the person who hurt you dies, but it will still be there.
Even if you’re right, that’s not a good enough excuse to continue being angry. You have to acknowledge it, work through it, and seek reconciliation … even after a death. Ask for forgiveness or ask to be forgiven … or ask for both and it will come.
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Ask God for the grace to help you make amends with people, living or dead, that you’ve had a falling out with. It will be difficult, but you won’t regret it in the long run.
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