I believe: Forgiveness, although it takes time, it should be a constant in every relationship. But what puts forgiveness above other things like compassion? To me, forgiveness takes compassion, it takes a desire to right a wrong. I often brush aside the need to forgive people, put it in a box and shove it in the corner hoping. Hoping that I’ll forget about it. The thing is...It doesn’t work like that.

“Forgiveness takes time, it’s not instant and could take a long time before you can truly forgive someone, or be forgiven.” My youth pastor once said to me. I remember cocking my head because I always thought forgiveness was an instant thing. He apparently noticed the confusion plastered on my face because he launched into an analogy: “Forgiveness is like holding a glass bottle. Picture you’re holding a glass bottle, then with all your strength you take it and smash it against a wall while you’re hand is still gripped to it. Now picture the shards left in your hand, that’s whatever needs to be forgiven.” I remember him pausing to let me soak all in, he painted a painful picture in my head, after a few seconds, he continued. “When you open your hand, it’s full of glass shards, ranging from huge to microscopic. The biggest pieces fall out easily, the smaller pieces of course are hard to get. And hurt a whole lot more, that’s why it takes time.” I remember being truly put to silence by his analogy, it made so much sense to me.

I’ve been in moments where I’ve needed to forgive, or have needed forgiveness. In fact One Hundred percent of people have been in those moments, it’s just life.

Broken relationships, it is all too common especially in today’s society that people just don’t forgive each other, in fact, we are out to ruin the people that hurt us the most. We shouldn’t live in that type of society, its gross. Sadly it’s the norm to backstab and  just to tear away at so called “friends.”

If we do not have forgiveness in our life we are bound to ruin ourselves. Our tight friendships would be reduced to ashes. I believe that forgiveness is the thing that keeps our relationships with other people thriving.