If we cannot lay aside the wound,
then let us say it will not always
bind us.
Let us say the damage will not eternally
determine our path.
Let us say the line of our life
will not always travel along the places
we are torn.
Let us say that forgiveness
can take some practice,
can take some patience,
can take a long
and struggling time.
Let us say that to offer
the hardest blessing,
we will need
the deepest grace;
that to forgive
the sharpest pain, we will need
the fiercest love; that to release
the ancient ache, we will need
new strength for every day.
Let us say the wound
will not be our final home—
that through it runs a road,
a way we would not
have chosen but on which
we will finally see
forgiveness,
so long practiced,
coming toward us,
shining with the joy
so well deserved.
—Jan Richardson