Forgiveness Does Not Change the Past, But it Does Enlarge the Future

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6: 14-15) This is a verse that I have grown up with and been taught all throughout my years of attending Catholic school. One of the major life lessons taught in Catholic school was to forgive one another and follow Jesus’ word. This verse is an example of the key to forgiveness; if you don’t forgive you won’t be forgiven. What is forgiveness? Forgiveness to me is getting over a mistake from the past and coming to terms with that individual. Is forgiveness a process? I think forgiveness can be a very long process or can be a short one depending on what type of harm is done to the individual.

Getting over a painful experience from the past can be difficult for some people and the severity of damage done to a person often plays a role in how fast a person is willing to forgive. Forgiveness is learning to get passed something someone did to you and accepting his or her apology or giving an apology. The act of forgiving isn’t always saying sorry to someone, but showing them actions of forgiveness. It can also be something that hurt someone majorly and a simple sorry and moving on can do. This type of forgiveness to me is used when someone intentionally did something to you or an unbearable act. Having forgiveness apart of your life and practicing it in your life only enhances and makes life more appealing and enjoyable.

Forgiveness can be a process that takes years to fully accomplish and truly trust that person again. Depending on what is done and the time it takes to fully accept or give the apology. The first step in forgiveness is recognizing w...

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...nd coming to terms with a person or meeting them halfway. It can be a long or short process, but following the steps of forgiveness can help anyone overcome it. As I mentioned earlier Matt 18: 21-22 reads; you should not forgive seven times, but seventy times seven. This is verse exemplifies that forgiveness should always be given no matter how many times it has to be done or the severity of the problem. To be a good person is to be kind, generous, accept people’s flaws and forgive. To live a happy and successful life we have to move on from the bad times and live for the good times. To get over the bad times forgiveness is key in our everyday life. It may not be what we want to do but there’s always a time in our life were we want to be forgiven. Forgiveness is a gift you choose whether or not to give yourself, accept this gift and use it in your everyday life.