Thank you for joining me in my month-long look at the Amish and forgiveness and sharing your thoughts with me! Here is the last reader-submitted story from Kate*:

When I was in grade school, I was asked to write a paper on “forgiveness.” I had been abused by our school janitor the year before and had told no one, so it was a pretty hard topic for me and the worst part was that I blamed myself.

Every day, back then, we’d say the Lord’s prayer in school–”forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sinned against us.” How can one possibly forgive something so heinous? I nearly choked on those words. I hated him … and I hated me.

Years passed and with them came many problems that I found out, later, came from that abuse. I developed an eating disorder and other issues that were a result of my low self esteem.

It wasn’t until I saw a Christian therapist and she helped me to see that it wasn’t my fault and that God’s love is sufficient for any and all sins, that I finally became whole. Even if it had been my fault, which it wasn’t, it was all washed away by His blood. I forgave, because not to forgive was to keep a piece of myself in bondage, but I never forgot … but it’s okay … Jesus has.

[Tweet “Life is always a test. What choice did you face today that tested your beliefs? @SuzanneWFisher”]

*Name changed for privacy 

Are you new here? You might want to subscribe to my email updates, or follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, or Instagram.