Healing of a grudge—possible through prayer

Forgiveness was the last thing on my mind. I’d been nurturing a grudge for years, and now the subject came up in a conversation with a spiritual mentor. I’d initially contacted this Christian Science practitioner to help me gain a more spiritual perspective on my life. When I mentioned the situation that had spawned my resentment, the practitioner said, “Forgiveness has nothing to do with the other person. It has only to do with the peace you find in your own heart.”

“Really?” I thought. I had assumed that the only way I would find peace was to get the other person to change.

You see, several years ago, a close friend implied that a member of my family had done something terribly wrong. I was sure my relative was innocent. In response, this woman closed me out of her life and out of other relationships that were very dear to me. Her problem with my family hurt me, and I was angry at the injustice. In hopes of alleviating my pain and mending the broken relationships, I often imagined possible ways to persuade my friend to see things differently, but nothing I could think of seemed likely to bring about a resolution. 

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