Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a virtue. You should always forgive anyone that hurts or mistreat you. Not forgiving them means that they have the best of you. My grandmother always told me that if you have a chance to get someone back and you didn’t take the chance you have already forgiven that person and that they no longer have the upper hand over you. In 1999 I found out that my mother was in an abusive marriage. I didn’t know until after she got married that my dad was on drugs. When he was sober they got along great, but she would always ask him what made him change towards her at times. My dad would never answer her. One night after work, as my mother open the door and found him at the kitchen table sniffing cocaine. She confronted him about it and that led to an altercation. Very confused and hurt, my mother told him that she was leaving. It was at that time he threatened to take her life if she left him. My mother never believed that he would go that far, so she never paid him any attention. On October 1, 1999 they had another altercation about him not coming home the night before. He didn’t feel like he needed to give her a reason for why he stayed out. He started punching her and choking her until she fainted. When she woke up he was gone. He didn’t stay around to see if she was dead or alive. After this incident my mother was afraid to leave so she stayed because she thought that it would have gotten better because he would always apologize. Things did get better for a few months and he changed, so she thought. They started attending church regularly. My mother thought everything was going good until two months later he wanted to go out with his friends. He went into the bathroom and when he came out he was another person. When she told him that he wasn’t going, he pushed her head through the panel wall. Knowing what he had done, he left with his friends. She didn’t have that life as a child, so she always asked herself how she got herself into the relationship. Everytime she was ready to leave he would beg her to stay, but this was the last argument for her. On December 15, 1999, my mother was ironing their clothes for church. He decided he wasn’t going to church again and he didn’t want her to go since he had changed his mind. She tried to explain to him that she still wanted to go, while she continued to iron clothes for church. He noticed that she wasn’t paying him any attention. He got the gun and aimed it at her head and pulled the trigger. She knew that God wasn’t ready for her because she didn’t move. That bullet was meant for her, but it went through the wall. For several years she hated him and didn’t want to forgive him but thinking of the bible and her mother she did. She never knew how much he was holding her back. He was holding her back from loving herself and being loved by someone who truly loves her. After forgiving him and telling him how she felt she learned how to be a loving person again. Now, through her abusive experiences in life, she can help other females exit from abusive relationships and forgive that person so they can move on. Forgiveness is the key if you want to walk through the gates of Heaven.