Why can't I forgive....it's becoming a real roadblock to me

[Kouyate42]

I’ve read in my Bible an incredible amount about forgiveness, both from God and between ourselves as human beings and Christians.

But this is presenting a major problem for me. Almost two years ago now, something happened in my life that meant someone I trusted as a VERY good friend betrayed me, made my life a misery, He even went to the point of driving me to attempt suicide and threatening to have me kidnapped and assaulted as I was coming back from church or uni, or to plant drugs on me and then have the police arrest me. He basically treated me terribly and showed me just what a terrible person he really was behind the veneer of being a friend.

I picked up the pieces and moved on. I broke all contact with this person and in my head, I thought I’d forgiven him privately.

But even this long after the event, this whole thing keeps coming back on my mind. I keep thinking about all the really spiteful and nasty, malicious things he said and did and the stuff I did too. I keep finding myself going through moments where I truly hate him. I’ve even been once to the point of imagining violence upon him.

This is worrying me for two reasons:

• This is something that happened two years ago, and it’s not the first time that something pretty rough has happened to me.
• This is really ripping me up. It’s making me want violence on someone which is something that I would never normally think.
  
  Seriously, why is this such a problem? Why, after I truly believed him to be forgiven by me, can I not really seem to forgive him?

 

[Della]

If you mean by forgiveness feeling good about this person or accepting that the things he did were all right (or that your actions, if wrong were justified) or that you shouldn’t be having flashbacks to this traumatic time in your life, then you have the wrong definition of forgiveness.

Forgiveness is letting go of retaliation. Imagining retaliation is not the same thing as doing it, although it’s not healthy to dwell on getting revenge. You need a good Catholic counselor to help you get past the emotional damage done and to sort out what made you think you could trust this person in the first place. Talk to your priest or call the diocese to ask for names of counselors. Most dioceses have some kind of program to help people make payments through Catholic Charities and other such organizations. Don’t put it off. Call today.

 

[Bookcat]

Read Jimmy Akins article on forgiveness…and also perhaps read thishttp://www.scepterpublishers.org/product/index.php?FULL=549

 

[Kay_Cee]

I’ve read in my Bible an incredible amount about forgiveness, both from God and between ourselves as human beings and Christians.

But this is presenting a major problem for me. Almost two years ago now, something happened in my life that meant someone I trusted as a VERY good friend betrayed me, made my life a misery, He even went to the point of driving me to attempt suicide and threatening to have me kidnapped and assaulted as I was coming back from church or uni, or to plant drugs on me and then have the police arrest me. He basically treated me terribly and showed me just what a terrible person he really was behind the veneer of being a friend.

I picked up the pieces and moved on. I broke all contact with this person and in my head, I thought I’d forgiven him privately.

But even this long after the event, this whole thing keeps coming back on my mind. I keep thinking about all the really spiteful and nasty, malicious things he said and did and the stuff I did too. I keep finding myself going through moments where I truly hate him. I’ve even been once to the point of imagining violence upon him.

This is worrying me for two reasons:

• This is something that happened two years ago, and it’s not the first time that something pretty rough has happened to me.
• This is really ripping me up. It’s making me want violence on someone which is something that I would never normally think.

Seriously, why is this such a problem? Why, after I truly believed him to be forgiven by me, can I not really seem to forgive him?

I understand where you’re coming from, since some persons I’ve known have gone out of their way to hurt me. Just when I thought I’d completely forgiven them, everything would re-surface in my mind, and I’d go through it all over again. I’d keep forgiving and forgiving, and it just wouldn’t seem to “take.”

Then I discovered a way to forgive that hadn’t occurred to me before. I took all the pain an individual had caused me and offered it up for the intention of that person’s soul. Now, when the pain comes back (and it does), I immediately offer it up for that person’s soul.

When you think about it, this is what Jesus did for us on the cross. After all, it’s our sins that scourged him, thrust the crown of thorns in, and hammered in the nails. But He offered His suffering up for us.

Anyway, when I began forgiving in this manner, I quickly discovered that I didn’t hurt as much any more. Best of all, the forgiveness seems to have actually “taken” now.

Hope this helps!

 

[Kouyate42]

Thank you all.

If you mean by forgiveness feeling good about this person or accepting that the things he did were all right (or that your actions, if wrong were justified) or that you shouldn’t be having flashbacks to this traumatic time in your life, then you have the wrong definition of forgiveness.

I’m not asking to suddenly think this guy as some wonderful person, because I know that this isn’t the case. But I just want to move on and get on with my life.

One of the major problems is that for me, this guy single-handedly destroyed my confidence in music, possibly the one thing I care about any more. He made me feel like a worthless person, but he also robbed me of the one thing that I used as an escape from everything and the one thing that made me feel like I was actually of value to anyone.

Forgiveness is letting go of retaliation. Imagining retaliation is not the same thing as doing it, although it’s not healthy to dwell on getting revenge. You need a good Catholic counselor to help you get past the emotional damage done and to sort out what made you think you could trust this person in the first place. Talk to your priest or call the diocese to ask for names of counselors. Most dioceses have some kind of program to help people make payments through Catholic Charities and other such organizations. Don’t put it off. Call today.

I’ve been through three counsellors (one at uni, one through a charity and a private one) and although they’ve helped me to a great extent, I’m still in this situation I’m in now. I feel like I’m forever doomed to

I understand where you’re coming from, since some persons I’ve known have gone out of their way to hurt me. Just when I thought I’d completely forgiven them, everything would re-surface in my mind, and I’d go through it all over again. I’d keep forgiving and forgiving, and it just wouldn’t seem to “take.”

Then I discovered a way to forgive that hadn’t occurred to me before. I took all the pain an individual had caused me and offered it up for the intention of that person’s soul. Now, when the pain comes back (and it does), I immediately offer it up for that person’s soul.

When you think about it, this is what Jesus did for us on the cross. After all, it’s our sins that scourged him, thrust the crown of thorns in, and hammered in the nails. But He offered His suffering up for us.

Anyway, when I began forgiving in this manner, I quickly discovered that I didn’t hurt as much any more. Best of all, the forgiveness seems to have actually “taken” now.

Hope this helps!

Good thinking.

 

[BluesPicker]

Kouyate42,

           I  hope that you could get some counseling from a valid professional Catholic spiritual counselor.    That is a wound on your spirit that can form unhealthy attachments. Ultimately the resolution comes from understanding Jesus Christ and His Great Redemptive Act for Salvation of Humans.

            I know a little bit about being the victim but  I have no training in counseling.  I battle the same thing myself.   But at some point,  I realized that Jesus was innocent of all charges.  Then  I realize that those who hurt me  I have to forgive them like Jesus.  Sometimes these wounds can be so deep that the best we can forgive is to pray with  true heart that these malefactors go to Heaven.   If we can reach this that is good.  What is good to remember is that when we meet Jesus Christ He will restore us and to live in that Hope.

 

[Della]

Thank you all.

I’m not asking to suddenly think this guy as some wonderful person, because I know that this isn’t the case. But I just want to move on and get on with my life.

One of the major problems is that for me, this guy single-handedly destroyed my confidence in music, possibly the one thing I care about any more. He made me feel like a worthless person, but he also robbed me of the one thing that I used as an escape from everything and the one thing that made me feel like I was actually of value to anyone.

No one can destroy anything of yours, such as music, unless you let them. Why hang on to hateful words said in order to make you feel worthless? They’re not the truth and you know it. Try not to be overly sensitive to what others say or do. They can’t live your life, only you can. Moving on is up to you, not up to him. Let go of the pain–give it to God, as Kay Cee so wisely adviced.

I’ve been through three counsellors (one at uni, one through a charity and a private one) and although they’ve helped me to a great extent, I’m still in this situation I’m in now. I feel like I’m forever doomed to

Then you haven’t been to the right one. And you have to stick with it even when it becomes painful or you don’t want to change things about yourself you need to change. Keep on keeping on.

 

[SonCatcher]

Kouyate42,

It can literally take a lifetime to heal the wound. I recently discovered that I am still working through a situation that is trivial in comparison and was resolved favorably months ago. Forgiveness is just one step. As Della said, the important part of forgiveness is renouncing the right of revenge (it is understandable that vengeful thoughts continue entering the mind - just continue renouncing them). It is possible that you won’t be totally free from emotional distress due to this incident during your life at all. However, so long as you continue working to forgive that is what God will count in the end.

-John

 

[Julian0404]

You cannot forgive, because you do not have access to forgiveness.

You do not know it means.
You do not have a source to go to
You are self reliant in a very harmful and hurtful situation - and are in a loop of hate that keeps repeating.

Forgiveness is what JESUS did - meditate on it, just don’t read it, put yourself in the time and place - imagine looking up at JESUS on the cross and hearing HIM forgive those who sliced and tore HIS body to shreds, who drove nails in HIS hands, who penetrated HIS brain with the thorns of the crown - and HE still forgave - imagine that, place yourself at HIS crucifixcion.

You are confused about who or what GOD is, so how can you forgive? Your foundation is sand, and so you are sinking. “Giving” Catholicism another go, is like giving GOD another go - hello and you will never understand forgiveness until you embrace the forgiveness HE has provided to all in the Catholic Church through the Sacrament of Confession and Penance.

You will find peace in HIS Sacrament, and through HIS Sacrament you will learn how to forgive.

Catholics, as a demographic, has the fewest patients in physological or mental institutions - why? Because we have direct access to GOD’s forgiveness - come join us.

 

[Bluegoat]

To some extent this is normal, and you have to keep willing the forgiveness. It can be just like anything else we struggle with like envy or lust, and in that sense it can be approached the same way.

It is a drag that it is effecting your daily life though. The counseling is good, and it might be an idea to try to find someone else to work with, it can take a while to find someone you click with.

It would also be good to talk to a spiritual adviser about this - not in confession, but in a deep way over time. A monastic would be ideal but not the only possibility.

 

[Waiting]

I understand where you’re coming from, since some persons I’ve known have gone out of their way to hurt me. Just when I thought I’d completely forgiven them, everything would re-surface in my mind, and I’d go through it all over again. I’d keep forgiving and forgiving, and it just wouldn’t seem to “take.”

Then I discovered a way to forgive that hadn’t occurred to me before. I took all the pain an individual had caused me and offered it up for the intention of that person’s soul. Now, when the pain comes back (and it does), I immediately offer it up for that person’s soul.

When you think about it, this is what Jesus did for us on the cross. After all, it’s our sins that scourged him, thrust the crown of thorns in, and hammered in the nails. But He offered His suffering up for us.

Anyway, when I began forgiving in this manner, I quickly discovered that I didn’t hurt as much any more. Best of all, the forgiveness seems to have actually “taken” now.

Hope this helps!

If this approach doesn’t help, then nothing will. Thank you. I still struggle after having forgiven a few times, too.

 

[Kouyate42]

No one can destroy anything of yours, such as music, unless you let them. Why hang on to hateful words said in order to make you feel worthless? They’re not the truth and you know it. Try not to be overly sensitive to what others say or do. They can’t live your life, only you can. Moving on is up to you, not up to him. Let go
of the pain–give it to God, as Kay Cee so wisely adviced.

Problem is that in between then and now, I’ve lost much music-wise that means a lot to me. I had to quit a worship band I loved because I had to move cities, I lost my last gigging band for no apparent reason whatsoever, I’m currently stuck somewhere I hate with little chance of getting a band or doing anything musically.

Then you haven’t been to the right one. And you have to stick with it even when it becomes painful or you don’t want to change things about yourself you need to change. Keep on keeping on.

Good advice.

Kouyate42,

It can literally take a lifetime to heal the wound. I recently discovered that I am still working through a situation that is trivial in comparison and was resolved favorably months ago. Forgiveness is just one step. As Della said, the important part of forgiveness is renouncing the right of revenge (it is understandable that vengeful thoughts continue entering the mind - just continue renouncing them). It is possible that you won’t be totally free from emotional distress due to this incident during your life at all. However, so long as you continue working to forgive that is what God will count in the end.
-John

You cannot forgive, because you do not have access to forgiveness.

You do not know it means.
You do not have a source to go to
You are self reliant in a very harmful and hurtful situation - and are in a loop of hate that keeps repeating.

Forgiveness is what JESUS did - meditate on it, just don’t read it, put yourself in the time and place - imagine looking up at JESUS on the cross and hearing HIM forgive those who sliced and tore HIS body to shreds, who drove nails in HIS hands, who penetrated HIS brain with the thorns of the crown - and HE still forgave - imagine that, place yourself at HIS crucifixcion.

You are confused about who or what GOD is, so how can you forgive? Your foundation is sand, and so you are sinking. “Giving” Catholicism another go, is like giving GOD another go - hello and you will never understand forgiveness until you embrace the forgiveness HE has provided to all in the Catholic Church through the Sacrament of Confession and Penance.

You will find peace in HIS Sacrament, and through HIS Sacrament you will learn how to forgive.

Catholics, as a demographic, has the fewest patients in physological or mental institutions - why? Because we have direct access to GOD’s forgiveness - come join us.

I will keep this in mind.

To some extent this is normal, and you have to keep willing the forgiveness. It can be just like anything else we struggle with like envy or lust, and in that sense it can be approached the same way.

It is a drag that it is effecting your daily life though. The counseling is good, and it might be an idea to try to find someone else to work with, it can take a while to find someone you click with.

It would also be good to talk to a spiritual adviser about this - not in confession, but in a deep way over time. A monastic would be ideal but not the only possibility.

As I say, it’s messing up my head big time. I’ve just started with a new counsellor today actually, on the advice of a family friend.

I pray I can get this sorted ASAP…I’m sick and tired of the same thoughts, over and over.

 

[Della]

Problem is that in between then and now, I’ve lost much music-wise that means a lot to me. I had to quit a worship band I loved because I had to move cities, I lost my last gigging band for no apparent reason whatsoever, I’m currently stuck somewhere I hate with little chance of getting a band or doing anything musically.

When you can’t do the thing you want to do, look for opportunities to do the things that need doing instead. A band isn’t the only form of musical offering. Talk to the music director at your parish. I’m sure s/he’d welcome someone with your experience. God often closes one door in order to direct us through another. So see what other ways you can serve and do that. It will help you redirect your energy into positive channels, as well.

As I say, it’s messing up my head big time. I’ve just started with a new counsellor today actually, on the advice of a family friend.

I pray I can get this sorted ASAP…I’m sick and tired of the same thoughts, over and over.

I too hope you can work through this because no one is being hurt more than you because of it. Certainly the person you blame isn’t being hurt by your inability to let it go. Don’t let him continue to hurt you this way. Follow your counselor’s directions, and give him to God to deal with. Pray God have mercy on him because he needs it, and because you need peace of heart and mind.

 

[OneSheep]

Wow, lots of really great advice and wisdom on this thread. Thanks for posting it, I loved reading all the posts and your responses. It sounds like you are quite distressed, and perhaps you are a little frustrated by previous lack of results.

Now for my two cents. Someone did a most disrespectful and disturbing thing to me several years ago, and it took me some time to forgive. i prayed for them, but I also spent a lot of time focusing on understanding the actions of the perpetrator, what motivated him, what he was thinking, needing, and feeling. The wanting to do violence to the person is natural and is okay, you seem to be in control of not acting on it; I maintained control too. The absolute hardest part for me was to finally admit that some action on my own part, - whether I intended to offend or not - triggered a violation in his personal rulebook. Your oppressor’s rulebook has been formed since he was a child, most of his rules he probably doesn’t even know the origin. Somehow, though, probably without knowing ,you violated his rulebook and he went into punishment mode, a mode you fall into every time you recall the incident. It can be a little disconcerting to know that another person in the same situation would not react as you did, but no other person has your rulebook; what is rude and offensive to one person is taken differently by someone else. In my case, the incident was a financial disagreement, and I did something early on that I had to painfully admit probably intensified their actions toward me.

Now, when I recall the person(s) who hurt me, I may initially get angry, but I remember what I did to trigger their actions, contributing to the particular meanness of their actions. I recall my rulebook, and their probable rulebooks, and I see the beauty of how my rulebook is formed, and its function, but how it is mechanical and enslaving. Most of all, though, my reflection on the incident ends in awe of what it means to be human, and in awe of the God who created. In this way, I turn the recollection of great hurt into a meditation on the wonder of God.

This can work assuming that the person himself is no longer in control, in some way, of your day-to-day life, that the issue is forgiveness, not some other ongoing thing, such as the person himself is stopping you from practicing music, for example.

 

[prodigal-sun]

I concur with Julian on this topic. You must learn how to forgive by being forgiven and accepting that forgiveness. I would also like to add that forgiveness is not a emotion. It is an act, much like love is an act, We have to force our selves to forgive and make it physical. Forgiving is not forgetting. See CHrist in the other person even though he has done you wrong he is still Human and as such has an intrinsic human worth. The best act of forgiveness I have is to pray for that person. Ask the Lord to also forgive his actions and do penance for him. In this way you may be the one who saves his soul.

Peace!

 

[Blossoming]

I think dwelling on why evil people do evil, or even do it to you specificially is wasted time, but it took a long time for me to grasp this, longer still for me to be able to act on it by moving on.

The thing about people who harm you is very simple. They have had such poor character for so long that they have let Satan into their souls to varying degrees and Satan is acting through them to see how many others he can get to fall out of grace.

People doing you evil is an opportunity for you to learn and grow as a Catholic and to become stronger and stronger.

Kouyate, you might want to practice positive affirmations. Tell yourself every morning in your morning prayers your own strong points and then thank God for giving those gifts (like music) to you and for allowing conflict and the following questioning of yourself by evil people to more firmly recognize your own good.

The easiest path to forgiveness is gratitude to God, imo.

Try to remember that every minute of any day you allow anger and depression over the past situation to dwell in you is time you are not spending to have wonderful days, help others, appreciate yourself and decent others. Don’t allow evil people to steal your time any longer than they have already done. That is wasted time.

Enjoy your life and start now by enjoying this day. This is the day that the Lord has made. Remember that every day as much as possible and thank God for that daily and you will become happier and happier.

Also, you will probably slide off into morose or morbid tangents, I think this is natural. But that will lessen over time as you truly appreciate God, yourself and the good people around you.

Loving and respecting yourself is not vanity. It’s very healthy. People who do not love themselves do not love anyone else either and they do not love God, because who can dislike themselves when they are a creation of God and much loved.

Blessings to you.

 

[Kouyate42]

Wow, lots of really great advice and wisdom on this thread. Thanks for posting it, I loved reading all the posts and your responses. It sounds like you are quite distressed, and perhaps you are a little frustrated by previous lack of results.

Now for my two cents. Someone did a most disrespectful and disturbing thing to me several years ago, and it took me some time to forgive. i prayed for them, but I also spent a lot of time focusing on understanding the actions of the perpetrator, what motivated him, what he was thinking, needing, and feeling. The wanting to do violence to the person is natural and is okay, you seem to be in control of not acting on it; I maintained control too. The absolute hardest part for me was to finally admit that some action on my own part, - whether I intended to offend or not - triggered a violation in his personal rulebook. Your oppressor’s rulebook has been formed since he was a child, most of his rules he probably doesn’t even know the origin. Somehow, though, probably without knowing ,you violated his rulebook and he went into punishment mode, a mode you fall into every time you recall the incident. It can be a little disconcerting to know that another person in the same situation would not react as you did, but no other person has your rulebook; what is rude and offensive to one person is taken differently by someone else. In my case, the incident was a financial disagreement, and I did something early on that I had to painfully admit probably intensified their actions toward me.

I can understand the rulebook theory, it’s something I agree with a lot.

The problem was that this person was completely and utterly unreasonable. He expected top reward for little work, and placed his trashy drugged up friends above me and others who were trying to help him. He was hypocritical and completely selfish, telling me and others to do one thing and then expecting for himself to do the opposite.

He also claimed to be Catholic, and yet I saw little evidence for this. He certainly didn’t attend Mass or Confession, knew little of the actual teachings of his supposed religion and then had the guts to threaten and bully me for supposedly being a ‘bad Christian’. He used my then-Christian beliefs as a stick to beat me with. He’d do something towards me and then tell me ‘well, you’re a Christian, you’re supposed to be forgiving’ (or words to that effect). The fact that I’m still interested in Catholicism is a near-miracle.

I couldn’t win either way with this guy, and in a situation like this knowing what I did wrong is impossible.

Now, when I recall the person(s) who hurt me, I may initially get angry, but I remember what I did to trigger their actions, contributing to the particular meanness of their actions. I recall my rulebook, and their probable rulebooks, and I see the beauty of how my rulebook is formed, and its function, but how it is mechanical and enslaving. Most of all, though, my reflection on the incident ends in awe of what it means to be human, and in awe of the God who created. In this way, I turn the recollection of great hurt into a meditation on the wonder of God.

This can work assuming that the person himself is no longer in control, in some way, of your day-to-day life, that the issue is forgiveness, not some other ongoing thing, such as the person himself is stopping you from practicing music, for example.

This is a highly moving and powerful thought.

 

[Kouyate42]

I think dwelling on why evil people do evil, or even do it to you specificially is wasted time, but it took a long time for me to grasp this, longer still for me to be able to act on it by moving on.

The thing about people who harm you is very simple. They have had such poor character for so long that they have let Satan into their souls to varying degrees and Satan is acting through them to see how many others he can get to fall out of grace.

People doing you evil is an opportunity for you to learn and grow as a Catholic and to become stronger and stronger.

This is very much true. One thing that can be said about the whole thing is that I became a much happier person after all of this stuff blew over and went away, because I learnt a lot about myself and realized that I had some good friends around me, who proved themselves to be REAL friends.

Kouyate, you might want to practice positive affirmations. Tell yourself every morning in your morning prayers your own strong points and then thank God for giving those gifts (like music) to you and for allowing conflict and the following questioning of yourself by evil people to more firmly recognize your own good.

The easiest path to forgiveness is gratitude to God, imo.

I will keep this in mind.

Try to remember that every minute of any day you allow anger and depression over the past situation to dwell in you is time you are not spending to have wonderful days, help others, appreciate yourself and decent others. Don’t allow evil people to steal your time any longer than they have already done. That is wasted time.

This is true. There are a billion people out there who will likely appreciate me and what I have to offer (whether this be music or whatever) to them.

Enjoy your life and start now by enjoying this day. This is the day that the Lord has made. Remember that every day as much as possible and thank God for that daily and you will become happier and happier.

I should make this a regular prayer intention. This way I can reinforce the good that’s in my life and the negative will be banished or at least made less important and less of a thought in my head.

Also, you will probably slide off into morose or morbid tangents, I think this is natural. But that will lessen over time as you truly appreciate God, yourself and the good people around you.

Loving and respecting yourself is not vanity. It’s very healthy. People who do not love themselves do not love anyone else either and they do not love God, because who can dislike themselves when they are a creation of God and much loved.

Blessings to you.

times a million.

 

[EricFilmer]

Seriously, why is this such a problem? Why, after I truly believed him to be forgiven by me, can I not really seem to forgive him?

In addition to the other good advice already presented in this thread…

1. As humans, we feel we have a kind of right to our anger. We may horde memories of injustice done against us, dredging them up once in awhile to affirm that we were greatly wronged and ought to be mad. During such moments we may even concoct angry fantasies in our minds, reliving the past moment when the offenses were done to us, but then fantasizing about what we feel we ought to have done, or what we would like to have done.

But this is like keeping an aggressive, venomous snake as a pet, occasionally embracing it and getting bitten (and poisoned) over and over.

1. I once asked a Benedictine monk about this same basic sort of problem (i.e., making an intellectual decision to forgive someone, but having ongoing trouble letting go of the emotional anger). He told me, “Don’t focus on forgiving the sins they committed against you, rather focus on forgiving the human weakness that allowed those sins to happen.” In other words, sometimes, simply changing our perception of a situation can do a lot to help us deal with it.

Of course, this does not mean we condone sinful behavior or try to make excuses for it. But this monk’s advice is a reminder that we all sin out of weakness, and it is easier to forgive a weakness than focusing too much on the specific details of each and every offense done to us. What that person you described did and said to you was absolutely horrible, but he was absolutely horrible because he was a morally weak person. And, as the old saying goes, “There but for the grace of God, go I.”

I realize that, ultimately, there is a lot more involved in the practice of forgiving others, but I have put this monk’s advice (as simple as it sounds) into practice many times, and it has made a big difference in my life. I pray that it may prove the same for you.

 

[hazcompat]

Unforgiveness is the snare of the fowler (Ps 91:3). It limits our freedom, and is a real roadblock to our own forgiveness (Mt 6:9). Our Lord, Jesus offers a radical solution. It worked for me. In prayer, take your enemy before Our Father, and advocate for them. Say “Father do not hold this thing against them. If necessary let me be crucified for them ( he will not allow this). Take all the merit of every prayer I have ever said and give it to my enemy, but do not withhold your Holy Spirit from them.”

In this way you become like Jesus, our Advocate before the Father. While this is difficult at first, over time you will habitually advocate for all sinners. This is not easy, but it gifts the world with the presence of Christ.

Mt 5:43 'You have heard how it was said, You will love your neighbour and hate your enemy. 44 But I say this to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the wicked alike.

In all things know how much you are loved by our Father. Bring everything into His light. He will give you peace. You are in my prayers. God speed.

peace

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