Forgiven

Forgive often, for the ones who need it the most will be the ones you least want to give it to. The ones that you KNOW did what they did out of evilness or spite or stubbornness- the ones who seem to have a heart of ice and couldn't care less, the ones who smile as they do and say wicked things, the ones who are unloveable and whose hearts seem to overflow with darkness every minute of the day. It's an interesting thing when you take the time to forgive- you actually begin to see other sides to a person that has wronged you: what a terrible life they must lead, what unhappiness and misery they have taken on as their own shield that is slowly killing them, how little they . . . love. We may be surprised at the end of days, when our souls are unwrapped by the great Master, and we are able to see ourselves for what we really are (or have been), how much alike this person we really are. How shocking to see the times when we were evil or stubborn, or had a heart of ice. I'd forgotten the time I smiled when I hurt that person, or how much my own heart at times overflowed with darkness and I really could have cared less. At that moment, more than any other, I will be so thankful to have forgave . . . and been forgiven.