Forgiveness???

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If you can do it MrsAbbott, and you pray to the Holy Spirit to guide you in this, You know I am 100 percent behind you in whatever you do!šŸ™‚
After I got home from talking to the priest, I prayed and prayed about what he had told me.
I wasn’t sure if I could handle it. Plus, I had to talk to my husband about it also and see what he thought about it.
After praying and talking about it, I knew that this is something I can do. My hubby and I agreed that it would only be for a few hours each week so I wouldn’t get ā€œconsumedā€ by it but it’s enough where I could at least focus on one person a week and see what happens.
If nothing else, I’m a good listener and would be willing to lend an ear for a few hours each week to someone who just needed to talk.
I just need to make sure I ask God for His guidance during this experience so I can truly help these women and do what I need to do for them.
 
Mrs. Abbott…I am so glad you found a way to work through your own guilt and doing it in such a way that it ministers to others is a bonus. God has forgiven you and now He will bless you as you work in love for Him. You will be in my prayers!!

Pax Vobiscum
 
Mrs Abbott,

I don’t know if this is advise, I would like to call it just a couple of points for reflection.

First, are you seeking forgiveness or along with forgiveness a reconcilation that in reality is unreasonable?

Second, perhaps what you are experiencing is your own purgatory here on earth. I hope you truely believe you are forgiven, but now although your sin has been forgiven you must still live with the effects of that sin. If this is the case I think the only way to overcome this is through prayer, your own and the prayers of others.

Just a couple of thoughts, I hope they help and I will keep you in my prayers.
 
Mrs. Abbott…I am so glad you found a way to work through your own guilt and doing it in such a way that it ministers to others is a bonus. God has forgiven you and now He will bless you as you work in love for Him. You will be in my prayers!!

Pax Vobiscum
Thanks! šŸ™‚
:gopray2: are definitely wanted and needed!!! šŸ‘
 
Mrs Abbott,

I don’t know if this is advise, I would like to call it just a couple of points for reflection.

First, are you seeking forgiveness or along with forgiveness a reconcilation that in reality is unreasonable?

Second, perhaps what you are experiencing is your own purgatory here on earth. I hope you truely believe you are forgiven, but now although your sin has been forgiven you must still live with the effects of that sin. If this is the case I think the only way to overcome this is through prayer, your own and the prayers of others.

Just a couple of thoughts, I hope they help and I will keep you in my prayers.
I hope that this is God’s way of seeking atonement for what I have done. I very much deserve it and THEN some!
 
I’ll just tell you the scenario and you can judge accordingly:
I was ā€œthe other womanā€ in a relationship for two years. I knew he was married and all that so it was a very horrible thing that I did. I look back on it and realize I was being VERY selfish and cared about no one’s happiness but my own.
That relationship ended right before I got pregnant with my son, which is a whole OTHER story, and I’ve been trying to make amends with that guy’s wife ever since.
Of course she hates me, who wouldn’t? I was a horrible person then and caused alot of damage.
They are still married and have had more children and I guess are happy, from what I’ve heard from people.
It’s by far the most serious thing I’ve ever done to offend God in my entire life. It makes me sick thinking that I did that. 😦
Mrs. Abbott,

I just want to try to give you (and some other posters) the perspective of this woman, not to make your guilt feel worse but to help you understand where she might be coming from.

My husband cheated on me and left me for another person. It was such a deep emotional hurt that no one can understand it without going through it. It damaged almost every area of my life; my self esteem, my self-image, my faith, my ability to trust people (including my own blood family even though they are fabulous), my finances, my family relationships, everything. Losing the security of the most important human relationship of my life left me with anxieties about my physical safety and occasional panic attacks. I felt, and many others have told me they feel the same, that it would have been easier to recover if my husband had DIED. At times I thought it might have been easier if I had died.

You say they are still ā€œhappyā€. No, I don’t so. They may be happy now but they were not for a long while and she still has a lot of trouble trusting him every single day. I don’t know her from Adam but I can tell you that with absolute certainty.

These are not things one can forgive quickly. They say it takes at LEAST 2 - 3 years to fully recover from any episode of grief…death, divorce, major illness, loss of career, etc. I’d say a cheating spouse qualifies as grief. This woman needs more time.

God’s forgiveness does not hinge on the forgiveness of this woman. She does not need to forgive you for your sins to be forgiven by God. You have asked her forgiveness, you did your part if you were sincere, and it sounds that you are sincere. Do your best to trust in God’s mercy.

This woman is NOT a monster for not being quick to forgive. She is human. I pray every day for the grace to forgive my ex-husband and his girlfriend. It will take God’s help and a lot of time.

If she does forgive you in the future, however, don’t expect her to speak to you about it or even tell you that you’re forgiven. Those things are not required for forgiveness to take place. Forgiveness doesn’t mean you’re going to be buddies. It also doesn’t mean she will forget what you did. For these reasons, you may never know if she’s forgiven you or not. Don’t hold your breath over it.

It may help you to pray for this woman to recieve God’s grace in order to forgive you. She needs His help…we can’t forgive things like this on our own, we’re not strong or good enough by far.

I say the Divine Mercy for my ex and company…it helps me start to forgive…I’ll add you and all involved.

hugs,
cecilia
 
After I got home from talking to the priest, I prayed and prayed about what he had told me.
I wasn’t sure if I could handle it. Plus, I had to talk to my husband about it also and see what he thought about it.
After praying and talking about it, I knew that this is something I can do. My hubby and I agreed that it would only be for a few hours each week so I wouldn’t get ā€œconsumedā€ by it but it’s enough where I could at least focus on one person a week and see what happens.
If nothing else, I’m a good listener and would be willing to lend an ear for a few hours each week to someone who just needed to talk.
I just need to make sure I ask God for His guidance during this experience so I can truly help these women and do what I need to do for them.
This sounds like a healthy way to ā€œrepayā€ without actually having contact with the person whose forgiveness you were worried about. It might actually hurt her more when you reach out to her right now, so helping others is a good option.

cecilia
 
Mrs. Abbott,

I just want to try to give you (and some other posters) the perspective of this woman, not to make your guilt feel worse but to help you understand where she might be coming from.

My husband cheated on me and left me for another person. It was such a deep emotional hurt that no one can understand it without going through it. It damaged almost every area of my life; my self esteem, my self-image, my faith, my ability to trust people (including my own blood family even though they are fabulous), my finances, my family relationships, everything. Losing the security of the most important human relationship of my life left me with anxieties about my physical safety and occasional panic attacks. I felt, and many others have told me they feel the same, that it would have been easier to recover if my husband had DIED. At times I thought it might have been easier if I had died.

You say they are still ā€œhappyā€. No, I don’t so. They may be happy now but they were not for a long while and she still has a lot of trouble trusting him every single day. I don’t know her from Adam but I can tell you that with absolute certainty.

These are not things one can forgive quickly. They say it takes at LEAST 2 - 3 years to fully recover from any episode of grief…death, divorce, major illness, loss of career, etc. I’d say a cheating spouse qualifies as grief. This woman needs more time.

God’s forgiveness does not hinge on the forgiveness of this woman. She does not need to forgive you for your sins to be forgiven by God. You have asked her forgiveness, you did your part if you were sincere, and it sounds that you are sincere. Do your best to trust in God’s mercy.

This woman is NOT a monster for not being quick to forgive. She is human. I pray every day for the grace to forgive my ex-husband and his girlfriend. It will take God’s help and a lot of time.

If she does forgive you in the future, however, don’t expect her to speak to you about it or even tell you that you’re forgiven. Those things are not required for forgiveness to take place. Forgiveness doesn’t mean you’re going to be buddies. It also doesn’t mean she will forget what you did. For these reasons, you may never know if she’s forgiven you or not. Don’t hold your breath over it.

It may help you to pray for this woman to recieve God’s grace in order to forgive you. She needs His help…we can’t forgive things like this on our own, we’re not strong or good enough by far.

I say the Divine Mercy for my ex and company…it helps me start to forgive…I’ll add you and all involved.

hugs,
cecilia
I am sorry that you had to experience that, Cecilia. Now that I am married, I couldn’t imagine how I’d feel if I was the wife being cheated on.
I know she’s not a bad person for not forgiving me. I was just honestly trying to set things right and let her know how sorry I was for what had happened.
She made it clear that she wants nothing to do with me and doesn’t even want to hear whether or not I’m still alive. I can respect that and abide by her wishes. At least she can move on with her life now.
Again, I’m so sorry that you had to go through that yourself. I will pray that you find complete peace in your life again.
May God bless you and keep you close to His heart. šŸ™‚
 
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