Forgiving a Family Member

The Oxford Dictionary defines family in several ways… one definition is “all the descendants of a common ancestor”.  That is a really big definition!  It is even bigger if you think that genealogy blood work shows that we are all descended from “the seven daughters of Eve”.  This is actually the name of a book written by Brian Sykes.  Check it out for Christmas season reading.

Back to the point - family is big.  When one of the family members does you wrong, it is very hard to forgive the family member.  So much that needs to be forgiven happens in families…

• Cruelty
• Guilting
• Punishment
• Belittling
• Beating/abuse
• Theft
• Abandonment
• Lack of food and clothing, and even shelter

You get the picture of some of the family actions that require forgiving.  Even worse, some of these activities cause individuals to stay stuck in a place where they relive the moments and feel the recurring pain.

There are many practices that one can use for forgiving family members.  What many do not understand is that forgiveness does not mean accepting the family member.  Forgiveness does not mean you have to be buds with the family member or that you have to like what they did or even like them.  Just as you choose your friends that you hang out with, you can choose which family members that you associate with.  Forgiveness means that you can move on in your life without them, that they no longer have a hold on your life.  

In the process of forgiveness, the Abundance and Healing take hold in your life.  You can now move forward.  You can follow your own path.

Blessings