A man's sympathy extends just so far as his wisdom reaches, and no further; and a man only grows wiser as he grows tenderer and more compassionate. To narrow one's sympathy is to narrow one's heart, and so to darken and embitter one's life.

To sympathise with another is to receive his being into our own, to become one with him, for unselfish love indissolubly unites, and he whose sympathy reaches out to and embraces all humankind and all living creatures has realised his identity and oneness with all, and comprehends the universal Love and Law and Wisdom.

When you forgive someone, you make a choice to cancel the debt he owes you.

Love isn't a feeling; it's an attitude, it's actions. Like buying him the prayer shawl. Whether you feel anything or not, just do the loving thing.

The text was Jesus' commandment from the twelfth chapter of Mark to love thy neighbor as thyself. Dominie said that loving our neighbor didn't necessarily mean we must feel loving emotions toward them, but that we must speak lovingly to them, rather than in anger or derision. And we must do acts of lovingkindness and compassion, deliberately and frequently, demonstrating the undeserved grace God shows to us.

My ability to heal cannot be conditional on them wanting my forgiveness but only on my willingness to give it.

Acceptance is like an antibiotic that prevents past rejections from turning into present-day infections. The need for belonging runs deep.

To love God is to cooperate with His grace. And since I'm so very aware of my own need for grace, I must be willing to freely give it away. Each hole left from rejection must become an opportunity to create more and more space for grace in my heart.

But it is a rare and beautiful thing when we choose to offer love in situations when most people would choose to scorn or ignore.

Forgiveness is the weapon. Our choices moving forward are the battlefield. Moving on is the journey.

I forgive this person for how their actions back then are still impacting me now. And whatever my feelings don't yet allow for, the blood of Jesus will surely cover.

So I fight for her. Not because we will reconnect. We haven't. And we might not. Not because she's right. Not because I'm right. I fight for her simply because I want to stay right in step with honoring God.