Publisher's Synopsis
An unwillingness to forgive can destroy us, rob us of joy and peace, and it can dismantle our relationships. True forgiveness, by its nature, forces us to sign an unspoken contract about an offense that tried to alter our world. Sometimes we forgivers move forward in humility because it's our turn to ask someone we've offended to forgive us, to restore us to the relationship we both hoped for as our friendship, marriage, or work relationship began developing. We eventually feel good about a cleared conscience. And then there are the big ones, those "I-don't-think-I-could-ever-forgive" situations. Some contributors in this anthology struggled to forgive abusers and even killers. When they finally were able to do that, they were rewarded. Following most accounts, thoughts and questions are included to help a reader or discussion group personalize what was just read. A basic truth that anchored most contributors is that because we have been forgiven much, we can forgive. This is Margery Kisby Warder's second anthology. The first, Celebrating Christmas, had forty contributors who found writing about Christmas help fulfill more of their dreams about getting published. However, writing about forgiveness required authors to dig deeper because each account had to be lifted from a real life experience. Transitions have been included between the entries, and the readers may skip around to find situations particularly helpful to them. Suitable for private reading or group discussion, the contributors hope their experiences will help others deal with whatever tough situations they encounter.
