My friend Karen Rabbitt, who wrote the deep, honest memoir Trading Fathers: Forgiving Dad, Embracing God — shares her dozen helps on forgiveness. You can listen to her story of healing from the consequences of sexual abuse at the hand of her dad. Moving!

1. Forgiveness is both a choice and a process.
2. Make a decision to give up anger.
3. Pray to be made willing. Or to be made willing to be made willing.
4. Feel your feelings in a safe place, with a safe person.
5. To say, “I forgive,” but never feel your pain is denial.
6. To feel your pain, anger, and sadness but never choose forgiveness is stuck.
7. Ask for grace both to feel and to forgive.
8. Study Jesus’ words on forgiveness.
9. To forgive is not to condone
10. To forgive is not to excuse.
11. To forgive doesn’t mean you don’t matter.
12. Trust God for justice.

Question: What would you add to the list?

You Are Blessed!