As much as the last few days have been full of fun, friends and family, they’ve also been full of come to Jesus moments.

It’s a combination of the significance of another year of life, coupled with the outpouring of joy I’ve had recently and the (this is key) the possibility of joy that I’ve denied myself before.

Why would someone deny themselves joy? Or happiness? Or peace?

Because of anger and hurt.

Deep seeded anger and hurt.

And after the last few days, some really good talks with Kate and Linz, and a big come to Jesus moment last night, I realized that I don’t want to be angry or hurt anymore.

And to accomplish that, I’ve chosen to forgive.

It’s often been said that forgiveness is not about the other person: It’s about you.

I completely agree.

I’m forgiving because I want to move forward. And I want to leave the anger and the hurt in the past.

I’m not saying that I won’t have moments of hurt, or anger, but I don’t want to be ruled by them. 

There is so much good in life, and often times I’ve missed out on something, or I’ve made the wrong decision, because I was being led by anger and hurt.

So tonight I forgave someone. Actually a lot of someones. And I forgave myself for things that I’ve done, times that I should have known better, opportunities that I didn’t make the most of.

I did most of this work on my self as I was sitting outside at the Hancock building, enjoying a birthday slice of Chocolate Tuxedo Cheesecake. I honestly think the last time I had that specific cheesecake was the day I turned 16.

I felt lighter as I was walked past the shops that were closing, on Oak and Michigan, on the way back to my condo. Much lighter. And fairly exhausted.

But it’s a happy tired now, because tomorrow is the start of a fresh week. And it’s the best season of the year in the best city in the world, and I can’t wait for what’s next.