Today’s forgiving journal is being gentle when things hurt.
I came face-to-face today with something I did in the past that I’m not proud of.
I am sad, and grieving, and also accepting and honoring myself and the other person involved.
I’m learning a lot about taking responsibility for myself. What I’m most present to right now is the opportunity to love myself, to forgive, and to do things differently.
We also have a sharing on forgiving from Anne Naylor, who is both a dear friend and a partner to me in this forgiving project. Thank you Anne for your courage, for your wisdom, and for your immense loving heart.
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What is forgiving to you?
Connecting to my heart and letting go.
What helps you to forgive?
Loving generosity to myself, empathy with myself and others, kindness and compassion for the humanness we all share.
Do you have a story about forgiveness that you’d like to share? Please do!
My story of forgiveness concerns the time I was going through a divorce, very challenging. I blamed myself for creating hurt in my then husband. I blamed myself for “not making the marriage work”. I initiated the vision that 15th March be celebrated annually and globally as International Forgiving Day. Each 15th March for 10 years,I experienced the gentle power of forgiving deepen and grow. That however heinous my judgements, there is a power of love so much greater that heals and restores and blesses me.
What can you start doing right now to help you forgive?
Relax and be patient. Let go and let God. See the funny side of life and have a good laugh. I do not need to take myself so seriously. At all times, I am doing the best I know at the time. When I know better, I do better. Grace is always present, for myself and others.
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Thank you again, Anne. You are a blessing.
I am so grateful to share in this journey with you all. I love you.
Love,
Debbie
forgivingconnects.com 
Taking responsibility can be a hard thing, good for you for rising to the challenge.
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Thanks Steve. It was really important to do. I am grateful… and learning to be compassionate with myself in the process. 💜
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Forgiving others is hard yet fruitful.Inspirational post!
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Thank you! I hear you. ❤ And so glad you are here. Blessings.
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I like Anne’s advise- “Let go and let God.”
Sometimes we just want to be in control all the time, and we stress out and get frustrated & mad when things don’t turn out the way we would want them to. At times when I feel so helpless, I just let go and pray, leave it all up to Him. Doing so always gives me a feeling of comfort and peace…
Also, I agree with Steve. Taking responsibility for our actions is one of the hardest things to do, but I like to think that it is also the mature and right thing to do. It also has the power to release us from battling with our conscience.
Thank you for this post Debbie. I hope you are well and good. ☺
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Oh Nina, thank you for sharing! Your comments are so honest and wise, I really appreciate them and your process with forgiving. You know, I was just aware today that taking responsibility is so freeing. Blessings to you, Nina. ❤
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More blessings back to you Deb. ☺
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Great point, but it can be so hard to be gentle when you are hurt. I have the opposite knee jerk reaction. Great reminder on something to watch for and work on.
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YES I so hear you!! You know, Nikki from A Kinder Way recently posted a quote on there being a space between intention and action. i loved this quote….it’s like, ok we may have a knee jerk reaction, and we can consciously choose differently at any time. ❤ It's practice, isn't it? Lord knows I practice it each day with forgiving. So many blessings your way.
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Love that
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I am trying to forgive myself for my divorce and also how I handled it… I am struggling a lot with it.
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I so hear that! ❤ Sending many blessings your way. Thank you for being here, and for sharing. So glad you commented.
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Love “grace always present for ourselves and others” — thanks Debbie. xo
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You got it Rhonda! xo Thank you for being here. So glad you are. Blessings your way.
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Well done Debbie. Facing from our past when we have moved so far past the person we were is terribly difficult. I’m proud of you. ❤
I love Anne's answer to question 1. ❤
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Oh Nikki, thank you!! You are such a cheerleader for me, and it really means a lot to me. ❤
And I agree – love Anne's response to what forgiving is for her. So simple, right? It's practice!!
Blessings, Nikki. Much loving your way.
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Typo! 😦 But you caught my drift. 🙂 I like being you’re cheerleader and just so you know you are easy to cheer for. ❤
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I like the end of this. Sometimes we forget that we are all doing the best we can given whatever day and circumstance.
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So true, isn’t it K E? And sometimes I need to remind myself that I am doing an amazing job sharing my heart … like there’s no perfect way to do it. The key is to do it!! (best we can with what we know) So much loving to you K E.
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Hi Debbie, I read about forgiving posts here and elsewhere. But last week someone said directly to me to not blaming myself for being sad or angry when I got hurt. The emotion is neutral and nothing wrong with it. What I need to know better is how to release the emotion and I am working on it 🙂
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Good for you! Sending you many blessings in this process. 💖
If you ever want to share your forgiving story or what you’re working on, I’d love to feature it in my blog. You can fill out the ‘Share Your Story’ form on my blog, or simply email me at weloveyou@forgivingconnects.com.
Loving, and much gentleness
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