Forgiveness is freedom

"Forgiveness is the healing of wounds caused by another. You choose to let go of a past wrong and no longer be hurt by it. Forgiveness is a strong move to make, like turning your shoulders sideways to walk quickly on a crowded sidewalk. It's your move."

I found the above quote as I was contemplating a situation that has been in my life for a few months now. One in which I was extremley hurt by two of the closest people to me. I won't go into details, it's not needed. But I had cut off contact with them both and decided to work on moving on with my life. It wasn't easy. I missed them but at the same time the hurt was so fresh, and I was devastated. I went through all the normal emotions; shock, hurt, anger, bitterness, and even imagined if things had turned out differently.
As time went on, I thought about it less, life got busy and it was easier. But recently, God began tugging at my heart. Reminding me of the good times I'd had with these people. Reminding me of the grace He had shown me and expected me to show to others. Showing me that there was still something that needed to be done to heal the past, and it wasn't in distancing myself from these people. God began to whisper to me, and began to gently reassure me that perhaps it was time, perhaps I needed to do something to fix the situation, and that it wouldn't hurt, it would be ok.

I began to realise that though it wasn't forefront in my mind, it still affected me, and I was the only one being hurt, but no longer was anyone at fault but myself. The relationships had been ended in a way that left regret. And I realised I didn't want that. I wanted these people part of my life, or at least knowing that things were ok, that there was forgiveness. I knew that these two relationships might not be restored to what they once were, in fact they wouldn't be, they would be different, but we could start over and begin again, and regardless of the level or closeness of our friendships, there would be forgiveness, love, healing and a peace between us all.

So last night, I took the first step. I called. We talked for sometime. We didn't dwell on what had been, we forgave each other and moved on. We caught up. And it filled me such an amazing joy and relief. The grace of God was evident, and I knew He was with me, especially when I read what was one of the scriptures on my email this morning:

'Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.' (Lamentations 3:23 NLT)

He is so faithful, He is faithful to heal, faithful to forgive, faithful to provide, faithful to love unconditionally and everlasting. I know that this is the first step, and there may be times I need to come back to that grace, come back to that point of forgiveness, but I know that God is with me every step of the way, and I'm so thankful that He lead me to this point of restoration. It's not only going to restore friendships, but restore what I hadn't realised was broken in my life.

God has forgiven us, for everything we could possibly do, He has extended His grace to those who humble themselves and ask. And He has asked us to do the same to others, show the same mercy to others as He has shown to us. And He was right to ask us to do so. It's not about being walked over, but release and freedom.
God knew how profound it would be when we began to learn to forgive and let go. I encourage you to explore the beauty of forgiveness - both for yourself, and others.