Forgiveness is one powerful attribute God has given to mankind; it's like you can be forgiven in his sight and start all over again, turning a new leaf. But what is even more important is the person you have sinned against or offended, who forgives you wholeheartedly; they truly are the free ones, not you, who was forgiven.
But as a human, I must say there are some levels of forgiveness that amaze me. Now, here's a little sorry. Back then, when I was little, I thought I should be nine. Back then, I didn't understand until my mom explained it to me when I got older.
We moved into military barracks; back then, my father was still in the army. We used to have this neighbor; since our house was really close, we used to go to this neighbor's house to play whenever our mom got back late from work. Our neighbor, Aunt Veronica, was a gorgeous young woman; she had a very beautiful heart; she was light-skinned; she had really long hair, which was natural; and she was a very good cook. Then her brother was still in the army, so they lived together in the barracks. She never said much about her parents, so I had little to no knowledge about them.
With all these features, Aunt Veronica had one flaw that was really noticeable—to me, I won't call it a flaw—but disability. Her legs were not equal, so she didn't walk normally. Back then, that was the first thing we had noticed about her, since we had never encountered a person with a disability, but thanks to my mom, she was able to correct any negative thoughts from the corner, so when we got closer to her, she was like every other person but with a beautiful heart and soul. She was a very patient person.
Back then, I used to hear “marriage, marriage." It turns out that she was engaged and was about to get married. But something terrible happened, which made her cancel the wedding. It turns out her future fiancé was too impatient to wait till marriage before she committed a body wish to him, so he forcefully took it. And she was a virgin, a pretty traditional kind of lady; she believed it was unwise to mess around before marriage, so she kept herself waiting for her husband for 26 years.
Back then, I was too young to understand, but I understood that her marriage was canceled and she was going through some kind of trauma (she was extremely frustrated; every time we visited her, she had red eyes; she didn't cook for us like she used to; she didn't come out of her house like before or even come visit us).
After some talking and pleading she finally told her brother about what had happened but she also begged him not to report him, but the unfortunately happened when she found out she was pregnant, when her brother found out he had reported her ex fiancé, I think he was demoted or something but he got it big, when he found out she was pregnant, he started coming close, begging for her to accept him so they could get married, to me I think he just wanted to cover up the shame, according to what my Mom said, she said she almost accepted the man back, it was good advice from my mom and fellow women who were elderly that stopped her because she had forgave him and she just wanted give birth to the kid but not without a father.
When my father retired and we moved out of the barracks to Akwa, Ibom State, we used to get updates from her. She told my mom how they both were co-parenting their son, and we're friends, but love wishes and relationship wishes—she couldn't do that with him. She married two years after we left. I just thought she had the most pure soul; she forgave so easily and was ready to move on. She said that wasn't the first time she had been placed in a situation like that and this evil people used her disability to mock her but with her ex-fiancé, it went extreme. And somehow I tried to place myself in her shoes when I got older, and I found out I wasn't so forgiving like she was; I could have done worse to that man. I forgive, but there are levels of forgiveness. And besides, I had a family that would never take such a situation lightly. Being someone who has expressed trauma in another situation, unlike her, I still know how it feels not to like yourself for a while.
But forgiveness is a strong energy because the moment you do forgive, you're free from the pain, and you immediately start healing. It might not be a quick healing, but surely you will still heal. Forgiveness goes a long way, not just in the physical sense but also in the spiritual sense. When your mind and soul are willing to forgive, you will surely heal completely.
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