“He doesn’t have to say he’s sorry” my 4 year old daughter’s said after I told my son to apologize to her. It wasn’t in a disrespectful tone, but one of forgiveness. True forgiveness, one that can’t be bought or faked. She got it.

I am so thankful for second chances. Life is such a journey filled with ups and downs. Sometimes we are on our “A” game, other times we fail. We are reminded in our human state how imperfect we are. Yet, through our moments of imperfection, we are humbled with the realization of Gods grace and mercy as He forgives us and gives us a second chance.

Receiving forgiveness is in many ways harder than giving forgiveness. You not only struggle with feeling unworthy of this undeserved gift, but also are dependent on if the person you wronged will forgive you. How can we transform our mind to release our heart of guilt and accept forgiveness?

I felt led to write about forgiveness. Not because I am an expert on the matter, but because I think it is so vital in living a joyful Christian life. Forgiveness is hard, nobody claims it is not. When somebody hurts us, it is hard to rebuild trust and move on from the wrongs that they committed. What reasons are we to give that would force us to forgive, instead of just abandoning the friendship, or avoiding the person all together?