Are you a good forgiver?

The antidote to shame is .

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Every year around this time, we’ve looked outside of ourselves into our city — for men and women and boys and girls who know what it’s like to be “going once, going twice, and almost gone.”

Would we allow our gratitude to propel us into generosity?

Would this be the year that we actually hit our goal — 100 percent participation, $500,000 raised? That is the only way we hit our goal.

This year, God is calling me to commit: $ to All Is Bright.

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The Three R’s of Unforgiveness

1. — Something happened. You were hurt, rejected, betrayed, or overlooked. But you can only remember it from your own point of view, not theirs. And that’s dangerous, because your story might be incomplete.

2. — You feel the emotions: fear, rage, hatred. You start rehearsing the pain, replaying it, justifying your anger.

3. — Rumination is the bad boy of mental health: unwanted, unregulated, negative emotion-based obsessive thinking produced by unforgiveness. It leads to anxiety, depression, and anger. It affects your heart and your immune system. Every time you ruminate, you’re being hurt again. Remember → React → Ruminate → Repeat. It will destroy your life.

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The Five Steps of Forgiveness — R.E.A.C.H.

R —
Something actually happened. Name it. Don’t minimize it. Don’t deny it. Acknowledge the hurt.

E —
Try to see it from the other person’s point of view.

A — Altruistic
You forgive not because they deserve it, but because you decide to forgive.

C —
Write it down — “On November 9, 2025, I made the decision to forgive , , .”

H —
Forgiveness is not denial. It’s not excusing. It’s not the same as healing. It’s not the same as reconciliation.

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“If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come. God reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”

— 2 Corinthians 5:17–18

The bias should be towards, not away from reconciliation.

“Father, forgive them.”

— Luke 23:34

Because we’re a grateful people — forgiven, and learning to forgive.