The health benefits of forgiveness and why we need to forgive

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Matthew 18:21-22

At some point in one's life, you have to embrace your pain and begin transitioning toward forgiveness.  Life isn't perfect, I've learned because occasionally the unthinkable happens that takes away our loved ones. When I was in Now Then, Minnesota paying my respects to my daughter, I heard over the radio not long afterward about a grandmother in that same general area accidentally running over her infant.On any given day, tragedy can happen and when it does we will be thrown into a whirlwind of emotions, unlike anything you have experienced. 

When we a hit that proverbial fork in the road we have one of two options to take. One will lead us down a slippery slope filled with anger, hatred, resentment and an increasing amount of cortisol in our system, a chemical that will subject us to an increased risk of cancer and other chronic health conditions. The other road we can take is one where we give all of our anger, hatred, and resentment to God and asking Him to help us forgive those who we believe caused undue harm toward our loved one. The world teaches us that money will cure all of our ills in life, that once we get that monetary payment in the mail for emotional pain and suffering that our lives will be normal again. 

But it isn't true. While you may feel richer, your pain will linger on unless you begin processing each emotion, one at a time for however long it takes. You owe it to your loved ones and to yourself to begin processing this pain. Your body will thank you for taking care of it. In fact, 1 Corinthians 6:19 states this about the body: Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

We owe it to ourselves to work through the emotions of our loss, one emotion at a time.  As you do this, you, like this woman in the video may feel the weight lifted off your shoulders and a much healthier lifestyle.