Weekly Reading: Help Me Forgive

​     There is a passage in what is known as The Lord’s Prayer that states, “And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us….” One interpretation is that as we forgive others, we ourselves are forgiven. I wonder if it also means that in the measure that we withhold forgiveness, we also withhold it from ourselves.
     The problem for many is that they struggle with forgiving people for cruelties they have inflicted upon them. “I can forgive you for many things, but I’ll never forgive you for what you did to me,” is a sentiment we hear from time to time. We also hear a similar expression when people say, “No matter what, I’ll never forgive myself for what I did.”
     Forgiveness is often difficult. The simplest solution is to recite these three simple words, “Help me forgive.” It doesn’t matter if we need to forgive ourselves or another; these words have power to transform our hearts. Maybe not today, maybe not all at once, but in time these words spoken in sincerity will eventually become real, and we will know that we have truly forgiven — and have been forgiven.