Forgiveness is the start of a challenging journey for some. You may accept an apology for the fighting to stop or an action that was made, but for some reason you seem to drift back to those feelings and memories of why saying "I forgive you" should have been an option. You seem to forgive and never actually FORGIVE. You begin to think this person shouldn't be worthy of your forgiveness. The old saying goes to "forget and forgive."

You and I both now what I'm talking about. You never forget. We simply forgive to stop the fights and arguments to just move on. You actually never move on. You are holding onto the grudge of the past and it's building and building like the Empire State Building, each mistake the person makes or fight occurs is topping from the beginning. You are harboring onto the past because you never dealt with it properly, causing it to affect your present.

You will never forget the past, no matter how hard you try to push down those memories or feelings. Whether it be something so small to something so great. You may avoid it or forget about it because you don't want to deal with it anymore. That's the first problem.

Encountering the problem is always a challenge for me and still is from time to time. The one action I do to help and understand this is to pray. Pray till your face turns blue or say nothing. God is always listening. Pray to understand, to love, to be kind, to be patient with this all because that is the bigger picture. FORGIVENESS TAKES TIME. Patience is key, like everything in life, but forgiveness is on the top of the list.

If you feel you can't forgive, ask God why. Ask him to show you or guide you through it.

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you".
Ephesians- 4 31:32

Forgiveness is one of the ultimate acts of love & kindness. It is so easy to be full of hatred and anger. We don't see that understanding what the past has done for us in a positive outlet. We go through trials of life to be a more strong, devoted, loyal, and loving person.

The point of forgiveness is not always for the person you are forgiving, but it is for YOU. You deserve to be at peace from the past and to have prosperous future. Grudges are a waste of time and a waste of energyYou can be directing that energy into happiness and grace. I'm not saying it's easy. Believe me when I say I struggle. We are only human. It's about coming to terms about what had happened and gaining something from it. Whether it be someone cheating on you, a lie, a lack of caring, a comment that was made and so on. It is hard to wrap your head around that idea of forgiving someone that affected you so deeply. Look hard inside of you. Does love and kindness cover all? YES YES YES. It's that God has wanted to put something so hard into your life to forgive a person/situation for you to look deep inside of your heart to find true love and happiness. To seek answers and to find a way to move forward.

God forgives us each day of our lives. Some may not know or some pray for forgiveness. God loves us unconditional that he'll forgive because he wants you to be happy.

The simple words of "I forgive you" is only the beginning of a journey of discovery. Be patient.