This is a quote from, Mark Banschick M.D. “As long as there are relationships, there will be a need for forgiveness.”
Jesus said “If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.” -Matthew 6.14-15

I have proven many times, in my own life, that there is healing in forgiveness. Most times I have not been able to forget about the hurt or pain, however; the conscious act of forgiving has brought healing to my spirit. It has given me peace.

We have all been hurt by another person or person’s or we ourselves have been the one who caused the pain and suffering to another. My dad was a good provider but a very poor father figure. He was a heavy drinker and a womanizer. He caused a lot of pain to our mom and we as children, carried a ton of unwanted baggage then and into adulthood.

We hid behind doors and tried to protect ourselves, from the verbal abuse as our parents fought a war of words. There were horrible words and accusations flying within our home. We did not receive physical suffering but mental.

I had to accept the fact that my dad was a broken human being and had broken the spirit of our mom. It was not easy to forgive, however as a teenager I made a conscious decision not to become the person that my father was. I did not recognize then but somehow I had to forgive my father in order to began a healing in my own life.

I became a Born Again Christian when I was twenty-three and had been married for about a year. The act of seeking God’s forgiveness, through Jesus, not only brought healing to my soul but peace to my heart. It was the beginning of a life long journey of forgiving and being forgiven. I recognized the power of forgiveness.

Yes, I still recall the pain and suffering of my childhood but it is a memory that doesn’t affect me mentally or emotionally. I forgave my father and the woman who was the mother of two of his children. I have never met her but I have met my two half- sisters. This was a once and only meeting. They were not responsible for the actions of my father but the result.

I’m so thankful to God because he initiated forgiveness and knew that we needed to forgive or to be forgiven to have a healthy relationship with Him and with others.