The Gift of Forgiveness

In middle school, I was excluded a majority of the time. Almost nobody invited me to their own parties, and many of my classmates made fun of my “voice cracks” as I entered my puberty phase. By my 7th grade year, I came home crying almost every day. Eventually, it got so bad that my mother felt it was necessary to address my problems with the school. So, she sent an email to my school’s vice-principal. The vice-principal responded a few weeks later saying only these words: “Have a great summer.” When my mom told me this, I felt broken. At that moment, it seemed like nobody cared about the fact that I was suffering. The same school that invited organizations to teach its students about bullying could not even recognize it in their own school. Over time, despite this pain, I did what I thought was impossible at the time: I forgave.

I know that this is the second time that I have discussed forgiveness in my blog posts, but, as Christmas is approaching, it is important to recognize the role of forgiveness in the season of giving. During the Christmas season, we not only celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, but we also celebrate what his life stood for—forgiveness. Jesus died for our sins, so that we may have the opportunity to seek forgiveness from God and ultimately reach Him in Heaven when we die. By choosing to forgive those who have hurt us this Christmas season, we are embracing a gift from God that is better than anything Santa can give us. 

It is not easy to forgive. It definitely wasn’t easy for me to forgive the vice-principal of my school. But, by forgiving others, you are taking advantage of one of God’s many gifts, which will only make you happier. So, this Christmas season, choose forgiveness...choose God.  

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