Freedom of forward

 You are crazy, guilty, not worthy of being considered, or completely out of line—until they get a taste of what they've been serving you.

Until it is their turn to feel alone or overwhelmed.

Until it is their turn to be lied to or lied about.

Until it is their turn to be mistreated or manipulated.

Until it is their turn to be some variation of you in the equation.

**“For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.” — Luke 12:2 (KJV)**

It isn't until then they even consider that perhaps you weren't the sole source of the problem after all. Perhaps, what they said was not what you lived or spoke. Perhaps, it all should have been handled differently.

Maybe your perspective was worth seeking. Maybe you did have something to say. Maybe the way you were treated wasn't necessary. Maybe the disregard they had for you wasn't deserved.

**“He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.” — Proverbs 18:13 (KJV)**

Sometimes people are quick to judge what they never took the time to understand.

**“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” — John 7:24 (KJV)**

The sad part is, by the time that point comes, you likely won't want to repair or regain anything that was lost.

Not because you don't want reconnection, vindication, unity, harmony, or any other construct that you once desired, prayed for, or waited on. But because you've seen and experienced too much to come close to ever experiencing it again.

You've since put the pieces of your life back together.

And because you know just how much it took to learn, heal, and move forward—you accept that you've come too far to return to anyone or anything that broke you.

**“Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.” — Isaiah 43:18 (KJV)**

Forgiveness does not require you to forget what happened. Grace does not require you to place yourself back into the same situation. And peace does not require you to reopen every door that God has given you the wisdom to close.

**“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” — Proverbs 4:23 (KJV)**

You can release the need for vindication and still remember the lesson.

You can forgive and still walk away.

You can love someone from a distance and still refuse to return to what broke you.

**“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” — Romans 12:18 (KJV)**

You don't have to become bitter because someone wounded you.

You don't have to become cruel because someone was cruel to you.

You don't have to return to the place that nearly destroyed you simply because someone finally understands what you endured.

Sometimes the greatest evidence that you have healed is not that you can return—

but that you no longer need to.

**“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:7 (KJV)**

You've come too far.

You've learned too much.

You've survived too much.

And by the grace of God, you are becoming too strong in Him to return to anything that He brought you out of.