There was a moment in my life about two years ago that I came to realize something about my dad. I had an incredible anger, resentment, and bitterness toward him, but some things were revealed to me, and I started to look at it differently. How could I be so angry toward a man who didn’t know how to be a father? How could this man who grew up with no father (and with nothing more than the example of a grandmother, really) know how to be a father? I knew he had grown up without a father, but I didn’t truly understand it. When I did, my life changed. It was only in the forgiveness that I found for my father that I was able to move forward in a positive and productive manner.
It is as if I had been wearing an old pair of glasses for 30+ years that were broken and dirty, and I now have a new pair of glasses. I have a new perspective in the way that I look at my wife and my kids. Everything is different and I have a life that I never imagined was possible before. And this is the life that I know I was always intended to have. Was finding forgiveness for my father easy? No way. Was it worth it? Absolutely and I wished I would have come to know this forgiveness 30 years ago. If I had, my life would have been a lot different. Forgiveness can be the greatest gift that you can give or receive, and it can change your life forever. It did for me.
I had the opportunity to interview Larry North, who is a well-known fitness expert and has an amazing story about forgiving his father. Take a look and you will understand the power of forgiveness.
—Photo albadawn/Flickr
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