Here’s the thing that makes forgiving others difficult: to do so may require that we re-visit whatever painful event that caused the need for forgiveness in the first place.

More often than not, we find it easier to brush the event under the carpet, keeping it safely in the past, so we don’t have to confront our feelings or the other person’s.

However, while we pretend the event is over, it remains standing in the shadows, ever present.

When we forgive ourselves and others, we free ourselves to move forward.

We no longer live in the present looking backward.

We free ourselves to create lives we value, no longer allowing our time to be consumed with anger or regret.

“Keep your thoughts right—for as you think, so you are.

Thoughts are things; therefore, think only the things that will make the world better and you unashamed.”

~Henry H. Buckley

Who do you need to forgive? Do you feel God calling you to forgive that person now?

This essay was originally published in God Loves Your Dream, a book of inspirational essays. Get your copy on Amazon.com.