Bitterness and resentment can prevent gratitude for the good that is currently happening. The trauma of the last can have a ripple effect into the present and future. No one knows the personal hurt that has happened but God. The agony, pain, persecution and loneliness that Jesus experienced on the cross is a great source of strength during the darkest of days. Forgiving a perpetrator can be very very difficult as we think of usually think of forgiveness. Some individuals can only be forgiven in the context of circumstances, and lives from a distance. Reframing what has happened maybe the best we can do with our weakness in a sin infused broken world. His grace and mercy are new each day with each memory.
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”
“Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future.” - Lewis B. Smedes, Forgive and Forget: Healing the Hurts We Don't Deserve
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