DO YOU NEED TO FORGIVE SOMEONE?

As and adult I was plagued by memories 
of people who I felt mistreated me.  The 
term mistreatment means different things
to different people.  Some  actions that I 
call mistreatment may seem trivial to some
people.This mistreatment can be lies told
about you or physical abuse by someone.


I have never experienced physical abuse. I was accused of a crime that my boss committed. His forged signature didn't match  my signatures on 
my driver's license or legal papers at his office. Therefore, there no charges were filed against 
me. Two years later, I had a boss who gave me
a 10 % raise one month, then tried to  fire me
two months later. Her attempt was unsuccessful
since she could not defend her actions.I just left
the company because I would face retaliation. I 
was betrayed and manipulated by a close friend 
I had known for  20 years.I could go on and on
but I will not.

The point is, I had to forgive these people. I'll 
share steps I took that lead to my forgiveness. 
There were also scriptures that I'll share that 
helped me. There were online videos on that
were also helpful to me.  I'll also share stories
about people in the Bible who had friends and 
family betray them.

Today, I share the steps I used to forgive. Here 
are some of them:

* I prayed to  the Lord to help me get over my
anger.

* I wrote letters to people who mistreated me.
I didn't mail them.The letters were therapeutic.
I wrote down what I planned to tell them when 
I had face to face meeting them.I refrained from
using negative or unkind words. Some day my 
trash can was full of hateful letters! I eventually improved.

* I printed pictures of people who mistreated me.
I did not contact these people until I could look at their picture and give a friendly smile. I no longer wanted to disfigure the face on the picture. I did
not want to  tear up the picture. I had recovered.

* I stopped discussing their mistreatment. You 
may have friends that entice you to stay angry.

* I had to decide what I would do if person 
refused to meet me or accept my forgiveness.
I decided I would tell them, I'm sorry they felt
that way and I still forgive them.

The outcome was, that my boss died due to
throat cancer before I contacted him. I saw
a former coworker from his office. He had 
already died and the funeral happened a year
ago. I had to repent and ask God to forgive 
me for not contacting him sooner.  

I did contact my friend to explain why I
was upset with her. I realized that while
I was walking around mad and she had 
moved on. She said knows that I have 
done a lot for her and her family. She 
did not apologize or see a problem. I 
said, "I forgive you, however, we'll be 
acquaintances in the future. " I send 
birthday greetings to her but do not 
visit or call. I do have to forgive but 
am not required to be a close friend 
to someone I cannot trust.


LIFE LESSON:



The learning to forgive thing is not easy.
I had to do lots of praying. I realized that
the Lord would not forgive me if I did not 
forgive others. I hope I helped someone
want to forgive.You know it's time to do it.

Mark 11:25

 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.