Forgive, Forget and Begin Again

Many of us have suffered the pain of separation, or even estrangement from a loved one: a parent, a sibling, a former love, or a friend. Maybe we desire to mend these broken relationships but feel it is too late because the damage has been done. We have all met people who will admit that they haven’t spoken to their parents or siblings in years. It saddens me so to hear these words for it is a very heavy burden that they bear. However there is Hope, for God has given us a beautiful gift – the ability to forgive others. As He forgives us, we are to forgive one another. Regardless of the reason for the separation: an unresolved argument, a difference of opinion, a misunderstanding, miscommunication, or a betrayal, there is a way back. With humility and love we CAN forgive, forget, and begin again. Some find it easy to forgive but find forgetting more difficult. However, in forgetting the wrong, our souls are set free from the chains that bind them. Of course this beginning again is not a literal beginning, but rather a turning of one’s heart. It is a desire and resolution to forget the pain of the past and start again with a renewed outlook and positive spirit; and it is NEVER to late to begin again.

Recommended reading: Christ is Passing By, and Friends of God, by St. Josemaria Escriva, the Founder of Opus Dei: www.opusdei.org, and Interior Freedom by Jacques Philippe, Scepter Publishers, Inc, www.scepterpublishers.org.