Do you nurture hidden feelings of anger and resentment toward your spouse? Are you constantly suffering because you are reminded of the past wrongs of your marriage partner? Are you finding yourself tallying all the injustices you feel have been committed against you down to the last detail? Have you ever been cheated by your spouse?
If your answer to all the questions is yes, you are carrying heavy baggage that will surely be harmful to your marriage and to your family as a whole. You may have had your trust betrayed or felt pain because of a cheating spouse. Maybe it is time for you to forgive.
Before you shake your head and say “no way,” it would help you to see that you need to forgive not just to save your marriage or your family, but for your own sake as well. It is normal to feel miserable either because you have been cheated or simply because of your partner’s insensitivity to your needs. But walking around feeling depressed, disappointed, and frustrated will have an impact to the people around you, especially your children, not to mention, your physical disposition as well.
You tend to overlook all the good things and people that come your way. You keep your head too low, looking at the dirt and the mud you fail to see how blue the sky is or how bright the sun is shining. Forgiveness is not easy to give. It requires humility and acceptance, something many see as signs of weakness. The wounded would rather build walls around them to keep their distance from their partner, refusing to “let go” or “make peace.”
One thing we have to learn about forgiveness is that it should be made as a conscious decision. It is difficult and it takes time and sheer determination but it is also possible. In saving your marriage, you have to decide for yourself that you would like to start all over again despite the risk of being hurt again. In a way, you are little by little rebuilding your trust on your partner.
Think of forgiveness as a gift you deserve for yourself. In the process, you accept that your partner did you wrong, or betrayed your trust, or broke you to pieces. You admit your grief, your pain, and your suffering before you acknowledge that you are ready to forgive to save your marriage or for the sake of your children and whole family. You will forgive because you love your spouse, which is why you were hurt because of what he or she did to you in the first place.
Another thing about forgiving is that it is not synonymous to forgetting. When you forgive past wrongs, you still remember your partner’s wrongdoing but without feeling as resentful as in the beginning. Many couples who found themselves in the same situation make the mistake of blaming each other so they find it hard to move on. It is usually harder for the children seeing their parents resent each other.
You could still save your marriage. Start forgiving and allow the wounds to start healing.