Forgiving to freedom

My response to a post on Emerging from Broken: "Forgiveness, for me, is the process of letting go of the people who choose to either abuse or remain silent or both. It is letting go of the hurt I’ve held on to because I thought it was mine. It is letting go of the implied and expressed obligations to them to answer calls, attend functions, to ‘follow their rules’. It is surrendering myself to God for the healing journey and getting rid of the stuff I don’t want to pack with me – namely them and their stuff! That is forgiveness to me. It is not excusing or explaining or making it go away, it is freeing up my voice, my life and letting me finally be as I was meant to be. Scars and all. If I say to them, “I forgive you.” I am also saying, “I don’t excuse you, I don’t want a relationship with you unless there is healing.” Forgiving is letting them go for God to deal with, and I have faith that He will."


I think I might expand upon that a bit here as well.  Or perhaps wax poetic.

Forgiveness is not for you.
It is a gift to me.
It gives me the freedom to heal.


Forgiveness is not about you.
It is about me.
It gives me the freedom to release you.


Forgiveness is not about you.
It is about me letting go of the hurt.
It gives me the freedom to let you carry your weight alone.


Forgiveness is not about you.
It is about me walking my own walk,
It gives me the freedom to carry my own load.


Forgiveness is not about you.
It is about me.
It gives me the freedom to leave you, your stuff, behind.


Forgiveness is not about you.
It is about me.
It is about me finding my way out from under you.


Forgiveness is not about you.
It is about me.
It is my gift to healing, my song to sing.


Forgiveness is not about you.
It is about me.
It is not an obligation, a requirement, a relationship.
It is forgiveness.


That is all...