Forgive as you have been forgiven.
Dear Diary… “I can understand, but I will not let go.” That’s the philosophy I live by when it comes to forgiveness. I can understand why you possibly did something, but I definitely won’t let go of what you did, no matter what. I ’ve always viewed forgiveness as something people do because they’re weak. Weakness . And that’s something I rarely ever try to be…weak. If I forgive this person, they’ll do it again. And because they know I’d forgive them, they won’t stop doing it. If they won’t stop doing it, I’ll keep getting hurt by that intentional behavior… and that would make me weak. I don’t like that. But the past few months changed something for me. Forgiveness isn’t weakness. Forgiveness is strength. It isn’t for the offender, it’s for the offended. It’s releasing yourself from the pain. It’s giving yourself grace, which—if you choose, can be extended to the other person (depending on the situation). Forgiveness is letting go of expectations....