Basketballs and Forgiveness

One day a son came home from school and, after having been home for awhile, came in to where I was and started telling me about his day. He was telling me about a boy in p.e. class that had thrown a basketball at him on purpose and had hurt him. As he was telling me the story, he started to cry, as if he were feeling the pain all over again. I told him that wasn't very nice of the boy, but then I shared with him something that occurred to me in that moment, and that has come back to me many times since. At the time he was telling me the story, the pain had long since subsided, but it was as if that mean boy was hurting him over and over again, each time he thought about it. I told him that he needed to pray and ask Heavenly Father to help him forgive the boy, so that he wouldn't continue to be hurt by him, even though he was no longer being physically hurt. I have come to believe that this is why we are commanded to forgive others: to get rid of the pain we inflict on ourselves as we continue to wallow in past resentments, many of which have probably been forgotten by the one who inflicted the pain, whether intentionally or otherwise. That idle, negative chatter can be a killer. The Spirit has a hard time getting a word in edgewise when we use our thought space to rehash the grievances we carry around with us. How much better to let go of them and free up that space, allowing us to feel the peace that comes and to hear the voice of the Lord to us through the Holy Ghost.