“Happy is one whose transgression is forgiven.” (32:1)

It is a great feeling to hear the words “I forgive you” spoken with sincere conviction. We all make mistakes. Sometimes we respond by denying that we did anything wrong and making excuses, instead of putting on our big boy and big girl pants and accepting the consequences of our behavior. It takes a strong and mature person to take responsibility for mistakes by admitting what we did, apologizing to those we’ve hurt, and making restitution, if possible. We do so knowing that forgiveness is not automatic, that sometimes the injured party will take longer to heal than it took for us to realize the mistake.