on forgiveness
Yesterday, in Day 5, we talked about purposeful work — the kind rooted in sacred calling, fueled by faith, and grounded in making a real difference. Work that becomes ministry, even if it doesn’t look like ministry in the traditional sense.
But here’s what I’ve learned:
You cannot move in your calling with clarity…
You cannot pour into others with purity…
You cannot lead from a place of true power…
…if you are still carrying unforgiveness.
Purpose and unforgiveness simply cannot coexist.
One lifts you.
The other drains.
One is alignment.
The other is an entanglement that keeps tightening its grip.
And so Day 6 asks something tender of us:
Forgive.
And let’s be honest, forgiveness isn’t easy. It may be some of the hardest spiritual work we will ever do.
It stirs old memories, tests our patience, and exposes tender places. But forgiveness is also one of the most transformative gifts we can offer ourselves.
And let me be clear:
Forgiveness does not mean acceptance, access, or reconciliation — especially when the person refuses accountability or change.
Forgiveness is a sacred practice.
It’s complex and messy. Both spiritual and human.
And today is not a mandate to rush or minimize your wounds.
It’s simply an invitation to imagine what true healing could feel like.
Forgiveness is really a form of death, burial, and resurrection, which is why Day 6 has its own soundtrack — “The Phoenix.”
A song I wrote during one of the darkest seasons of my life.
I didn’t write “The Phoenix” because I felt strong.
I wrote it because I felt battered, alone, and I needed to reclaim strength.
I needed language for the part of me that still— quietly and stubbornly— believed in restoration.
The chorus goes like this:
Like the Phoenix I will rise from these ashes
Ignore these hurts, these bruises and these scratches
I am born again
I'm here to win
I survived
And now I thrive
Like the Phoenix.
I didn’t know it then, but I was writing about forgiveness.
And forgiveness doesn’t mean:
“What happened was okay.”
“I’m totally fine.”
“Let’s go back to how things were.”
No, forgiveness declares:
“What tried to destroy me didn’t win.”
“I choose peace over bitterness.”
“I will not live with this wound for the rest of my life.”
That, to me, is the true heartbeat of Day 6.
So whether you need to forgive yourself or someone else, it is time to rise.
And like the Phoenix, forgiveness asks you to rise not because you weren’t burned… but because you were — and still, impossibly, beautifully, and defiantly — you live.
Forgiveness is simply the moment you decide that your story does not end in ashes.
And like the Phoenix —
you can rise,
again and again,
stronger each time.
If you’d like to hear my song, The Phoenix, it’s here.
