My friends, how long do we often let the painful or hurtful words and devastating actions of others cause us to hold on to resentment and unforgiveness, ultimately prolonging our resulting bad feelings and negatively affecting our personal joy? For many of us the answer is “too long and too often”, as our human nature and pride get in the way of maintaining personal peace and positively moving forward with our life.

In the aftermath of the recent shootings and numerous discussions on gun violence, John O’leary, one of my favorite speakers and writers, interviewed the mom of the 1999 Columbine shooter. This is the woman who raised the boy, called a monster by many, and who brutally murdered 13 people. His actions devastated a community and changed many lives forever. During the interview, the mom expresses her sorrow and unbelief in what her son had done. She apologizes to the victims and their families, not making excuses, but requesting forgiveness.

In John’s blog he also shares the letter from one of the victims. Imagine having your life dramatically and traumatically changed in the blink of an eye by a madman who murders your classmates and friends, and permanently paralyzes you. This brave gal, Anne Marie, wrote to the mom of the shooter and expressed her forgiveness.

Forgiveness is not easy, and doesn’t mean you have to forget. It involves letting go of the anger and resentment, and the hate you are holding inside. When we hang onto those things we stay sick in our heart and soul, and we will never fully heal, or experience the joy God wants for us. In her letter, Ann forgives the shooters mom, deciding to look to the future rather than the past. She chooses to move on with her life, despite the tragedy and injury that changed her. She made the decision to let go and continue her journey into the future

I guess the best way to put it is, don’t look at forgiveness as something you do for another person. Look at it as something extremely important that you need to do for yourself. If Ann Marie can forgive the young man who paralyzed her, Who Can You Forgive Today?