Faith & Healing
The Slow Work of Forgiveness
5 July 2026 · 7 min read · Aficha N McKnight
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other. — Ephesians 4:32
Forgiveness is frequently rushed. Someone is wounded on Tuesday and told to forgive by Sunday. What follows is not freedom but suppression wearing forgiveness as a costume.
Real forgiveness begins with a full accounting of the harm. You cannot release a debt you refuse to name. From there it becomes a practice repeated over months — choosing, again, not to seek the other's ruin.
Forgiveness never requires you to return to unsafe ground. Reconciliation needs two people; forgiveness can begin with one.
Would it help to talk this through?
Book a free twenty-minute call, or join one of the small support groups running this term.