I can tell that I have forgiven her because I no longer feel pain at being closed out of her life, and I know that if she came to me and said, "let's start over and be friends again," I might be willing to do that. It would depend on how positive of a person she was at that time, but I wouldn't hold any of the past as a reason to say yes or no. I feel relieved to know this. I have no regrets; I am glad we had a friendship, glad I gave to her, and glad it ended. It was just time. Goodbye Anika, thank you for being a part of my life for the time that you were.
I used to think that forgiveness was a simple decision, make it and you're done. Now I think that the simple decision is the seed, and once planted it has to be nourished in order to blossom. If the wound was more than superficial, forgiveness takes time to develop -- and I think that the nourishment necessary is the love of others. Thank you, my amazing loving friends, for helping me get to this point. I would be so much less without you. ♥
