Forgiving others can be hard, but the act is necessary. Notice that I said act because forgiving is not words we say but actions we perform. But before speaking to or doing for another, we must acknowledge that we have an issue with that person. Doing this can be hard for everyone, including traditional strong black women who tend to ignore pains inflicted on us; our lives are so full of activities that we may think we don’t have time to stop to deal with someone who has offended us. Or maybe we don’t want to admit that someone hurt our feelings because doing so makes us look weak. And perhaps we think being vulnerable is not a position we can afford to be in.

Well, we must risk missing a deadline and being vulnerable so that we make amends. This is for our health and the health of others. In keeping with my observance of National Poetry Month, I posted the poem The Making of Unforgiveness on Friday. On Saturday I ministered at a women’s retreat on the topic of forgiveness. In one exercise I had the women rewrite this poem to reflect someone who they hadn’t forgiven. I had them title their poem My Making of Unforgiveness. The women began to unearth things, many they had buried years ago. By their own admission, through this exercise many women began to heal. I challenge you to rewrite the poem to fit your situation and let me know the effect the process has on you. I look forward to hearing from you.

Copyright 2010 by Rhonda J. Smith