One of the harder things I’ve had to accept is that suffering does not make everything I do afterward justified.

Pain can explain why I became angry.

Fear can explain why I became defensive.

Betrayal can explain why I struggled to trust.

But explanation and permission are different things.

Eventually, I still have to look at myself.

I still have to apologize when I am wrong.

I still have to correct what I’ve allowed pain to turn into.

Otherwise the person who hurt me gets to keep hurting people through me.

That is a cycle I refuse to continue.

Reflection Question:
What behavior have you been explaining with your pain that you know it is time to change?

~ Praise God