N8tivegirl

The Maintenance of the Heart

Emotions are honest.

But they are not always accurate.

They tell us what hurts.

They tell us what we fear.

They tell us what we want in the moment.

But they do not always tell us what is right.

Feelings rise and fall.

They swell like waves and retreat just as quickly.

Unforgiveness, however, settles.

If left unattended,

it becomes like a wound that refuses to heal.

Not because it cannot heal —

but because we keep touching it.

We replay the words.

We revisit the moment.

We reopen what was trying to close.

And then we wonder

why it still hurts.

Healing requires something different.

You must clean it.

Apply the medicine.

Allow it to breathe.

And then leave it alone long enough

for it to scab.

Forgiveness is not denial.

It is discipline.

It is maintenance of the heart.

And here is the part we rarely admit:

We think forgiveness requires a speech.

A confrontation.

A declaration to the one who hurt us.

But often, forgiveness is quieter than that.

It is not always about releasing them.

Sometimes it is about releasing yourself.

Because it is easy to say,

“I forgive you.”

It is much harder to say,

“I forgive me.”

To forgive yourself for staying too long.

For not knowing sooner.

For reacting poorly.

For choosing wrong.

For carrying guilt that was never yours.

We all need it once in a while —

the lesson of releasing

and forgiving self.

Because self-forgiveness is not weakness.

It is growth acknowledging

that you were once unfinished.

And sometimes the greatest act of grace

is turning inward and saying:

“I release you.

You did the best you could

with what you knew.”

And then choosing

to walk forward

The lighter.