Monday, June 28, 2010

So much to learn

My friend, Mary, noted on Facebook yesterday that she is learning about forgiveness and healing.

She recently completed a course that taught her how learning to forgive adds greatly to the value and quality of your life. She was shown examples of survivors of catastrophes and atrocities that have forgiven and are better for it.

Boy, that is a tough one.

I have been wrestling with this myself for a long time. Forgiveness does not come easily when a hurt is really deep. I can readily forgive small things, and even most big things from way back in my life.

But when something leaves a deep imprint that broke your heart, and altered - not ruined, but altered - your life, forgiveness is a slow process and one I have yet to achieve.

I don't exactly wear this on my sleeve, and I doubt that anyone but me is aware of it. But there it is, buried in my heart like a sore. Not a fresh sore, but more like a scar.

I either need this course that Mary took, or I need to sit down with these atrocity-survivors and ask them to teach me how they arrived at that place.

Oh, I still have so much to learn!