Can you forgive anyone? I don’t think you have a chance alone.
When it comes to forgiveness, in theory it seems extremely simple … it’s just a word that needs to be applied in our lives, to free ourselves from people who have wronged us in one way or another. Instead, practice really kills us: it’s human to want to be done justice, maybe even to wish for the man who hurt you so much to go through what you went through.
After all you have endured, it seems unfair to yourself to leave things as they are, to give up all the venom you have accumulated in the body, to give up all the anger towards that person. That anger always feeds you, annoys you, ignites you every time you remember how much you suffered. That anger consumes you enormously, closes your eyes to see what is most beautiful around you … and yet you do not let it go, because you want justice to be done to you.
What you don’t realize is that the evil has already been done, and by taking revenge, you will not change the past in any way, you will not do better things and you will not do yourself any good. That fierce justice that you want in your life by hurting another (whether it has hurt you or not in the past) will bring you momentary satisfaction, which will pass faster than you imagined, because that satisfaction is a mischievous one, which feeds you even more with venom.
Without God you cannot forgive. Only by asking Him for help and asking Him to be with you, to take from you the venom you have for those who have hurt you, will you be able to forgive. God will cleanse you and give you the peace you ask for. Even if it seems tempting to think that you will be reconciled to yourself if the wrong done has been returned to the perpetrator, this is the biggest lie you can tell. Only God gives you true peace when you want with all your heart to cleanse your life of anger, hatred and the desire to harm back.
Even if you think you will not be done right, know that you are wrong. You will receive a much fairer justice than you could ever imagine, at the same time not having to splash with hatred. You will be left with memories, you will be left with a bitter taste for the people who have wronged you. And you will live with them. You will love them like any other human being. You will never have to be their friend, you will never have to sympathize with them.
We must have love for God’s creation, whether that creation chooses to do His will or not. You don’t have to sympathize with them, you don’t have to be around them. Accepting their deeds in your life, leaving them in the past (which you can’t change) and praying are the best things you can do. All must come from your desire to overcome those moments. God will be close to you and take them from you, but He will not change the past, but will make your present and future much brighter.
Forgiveness means giving up pride and moving on with God’s help. It is ideal, it is the best thing you can do for yourself and to strengthen your relationship with God. You will truly love that life, the peace He gives you is supreme … but it is extremely difficult to get there. We need to get over what we consider human … pride, the apparent justice we consider normal must be removed. It’s not impossible, it’s just extremely difficult.
