(8) Installment #1: This I Believe...
“Forgiveness is unlocking the door to set someone free and
realizing you were the prisoner” –Max Lucado
I believe in forgiveness. I believe the power of forgiveness is one of the
strongest and most valuable things I can hold. Forgiveness can be a difficult
concept for humans and especially when hardships are encountered in life.
Finding faith and realizing I had the power to forgive has allowed me to become
an overall better person.
When I
truly understood the power behind forgiveness was when I put all my energy and
time into the college I attended as a freshman. My life was built around my
faith and playing soccer. Naturally I looked for a school that would allow me
to grow closer to God and continue to let me pursue the talents He gave me
through soccer. I devoted four years of recruitment into this school only to
leave after my freshman year. Letting go of the idea of being a student-athlete
and a follower of my Savior was extremely hard and I battled with forgiving
myself and it even made me question my faith. I battled with being sexually
harassed by my soccer coach and continued to ask “why me?”. How could I
continue at a school that supported a women’s soccer coach that degraded women
and infringed on my image of what a Christian man should represent? I decided
to leave the soccer program and a place of holy worship for a secular school
that was unknown territory for me. I battled everyday with what I did wrong and
how I could be mislead by Christians and what seemed to be the direction my
faith pushed me. I struggled with forgiving my coach and had a corrupt outlook
on men. Finding myself on my hands and knees praying for a sign was when I knew
things were changing.
Forgiving
those that have harmed you is a powerful gift. I not only forgave those around
me, but I ultimately forgave them for myself. The statement “feels like a
hundred pounds has been lifted off my shoulders” was an understatement for the
decision I made when I changed schools and forgave the man that hurt me the
most. I forgave him for his family, my team, and for the countless number of
men in my life. In this moment of weakness I found that forgiveness not only
lifted a burden off of me, but allowed me to become a stronger Christian.
Videos:
Signs of Forgiveness
Funny forgiving dog compilation
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