Thank you for this group...I hope I can post...I started to then chickened out..

[hrmjustin]

10. You can forgive as a part of your healing process.

That does not mean it goes away. I forgave him because I wanted him to be able to die in peace. He was truly sorry. He was my boyfriend and I confronted him about cheating on me and he beat and raped me. He tried over the years to say he was sorry but I refused to give it. But when I heard from a friend he was getting really sick I talked with my clergy about it and I decided to give him my peace. He was very thankful that i forgave him.

This does not mean I am all healed but it was a big step and it help me let go a lot of pain. I think in the end you do have to forgive because it helps you get rid of some of the pain. We will carry all this to the grave but if we can unload a lot of it in this life than i am all for it. Forgiveness does not mean that there should be no punishment. I thought because I was a guy it would not be taken seriously. 1 in 5 women in this nation are raped in their lifetime. That is a horrific number. We need to do better as a nation teaching our young people about respect and the proper way to treat each other.