Not long ago, the Lord tested me on this very issue. I had been wronged in a very personal way. I was unable to forgive the offense. I was bitter, very bitter. I felt the Spirit of the Lord leave my life and my home. My bitterness caused me to struggle in every aspect of life. Finally, in quiet and humble submission, I approached the Lord and begged Him for the ability to forgive my offender. As I asked the Lord to help me, I felt a peace come to my soul and life. I was directed in many ways. My feet were guided. The Lord took care of my every need, showing me how to forgive and move forward.
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This experience was the hardest for me to forgive. I learned that it is more difficult to forgive those that have put my family and loved ones into danger. I also learned that my lack of forgiveness had halted my spiritual progression.
“How difficult it is for any of us to forgive those who have injured us. We are all prone to brood on the evil done to us. The brooding becomes as a gnawing and destructive canker. Is there a virtue more in need of application in our time than the virtue of forgiving and forgetting? There are those who would look upon this as a sign of weakness. Is it? I submit that it takes neither strength nor intelligence to brood in anger over wrongs suffered, to go through life with a spirit of vindictiveness, to dissipate one’s abilities in planning retribution. There is no peace in the nursing of a grudge. There is no happiness in living for the day when you ‘get even’” (Hinckley, Be Thou an Example, p49).
By Tracy Atkinson
Tracy Atkinson, mother of six, lives in the Midwest with her husband. She is a teacher, having taught elementary school to higher education, holding degrees in elementary education and a master’s in higher education. Her passion is researching, studying and investigating the attributes related to self-directed learners. She has published several titles, including The Art of Learning Journals, Calais: The Annals of the Hidden, Lemosa: The Annals of the Hidden, Book Two, Rachel’s 8 and Securing Your Tent. She is currently working on a non-fiction text exploring the attributes of self-directed learners: The Five Characteristics of Self-directed Learners.
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