Forgiveness And Reconciliation

The anniversary of the death of my late aunt Maire is swiftly approaching. She was my favorite aunt and one of my favorite people on this earth. She passed away 4 years ago. As the anniversary of her death nears, I have started to reflect on our relationship and what it meant to me. 

I knew my aunt my entire life. She was my father’s sister. We lived in the same city. My family is relatively small. She and I were close most of my life. At one point, as a very young woman, I lived in her house. Those days were not always smooth sailing. We had our differences. I was young and trying to find my way in life and we did not always see eye to eye. Eventually I left her home and struck out on my own. During that period, Aunt Maire and I became estranged. 

Eventually, we reconnected and reconciled. Aunt Maire taught me the greatest lesson about forgiveness. Not just on her part, but mines as well. We had both made mistakes in the past and said things that could not be taken back. But; when we reconciled, we never looked back on those rocky years. We never had an argument going forward, no harsh words were ever spoken again. We accepted each other unconditionally. We supported each other, right until the end of her life. She was always there for me. We spoke almost daily. 

Forgiveness is sometimes hard for us. Reconciliation can even be harder. It’s difficult to trust again if you feel someone has hurt you. I think the only true way for forgiveness to occur, is to be truly sorry and to never repeat past transgressions. You cannot say you are sorry for past words or actions and then proceed to repeat the same words or actions you apologized for. Reconciliation can only truly occur if you leave the past mistakes in the past. I learned that important lesson from my beautiful Aunt Maire. I will miss you always.