In the past I have usually been able to forgive and forget. For about six months or so the ‘forgetting’ part has been very difficult. But I’ve learned that I should only use the things that once hurt me as reminders of what I will not allow in my life. I don’t want to hang things over the people who hurt me. I don’t want to constantly remind them about what they did to me. But I can’t let the same abusive cycle continue either.
I sincerely want to get the most out of my encounters with the people around me. And I’ve realized that people will come in and out of my life. They will enter my life in ‘seasons.’ I’ve heard the term before but I’ve truly begun to understand what it means.
Some people aren’t meant to be as close as we would like them to be. And they may not be meant to stay in our lives indefinitely. That has been something that I’ve wrestled with. I don’t like to ‘write people off.’ But I’ve been burned… a lot.
I’m coming to the conclusion that it’s me or them. And I obviously choose me. In the end, I will answer for myself. So while I honestly enjoy helping others, I have to help myself, too… More so than I have been.
I forgive because… bitterness should not be apart of my life. It festers and it warps the mind. I don’t want to carry that kind of burden around with me for the rest of my life. I will not let anger block the blessings God has for me.
Yes, it’s a hard lesson and it stings…. Learn from it, get up, and keep moving!