Forgiveness

I have been hearing a lot about forgiveness lately and I have had to stop and think for a minute.  Why is it soooo hard to forgive someone?  Well, for starters, it's because you want them to hurt as much as you are hurting.  Maybe that's why it is SO huge that God forgives us.  Every time we do something against His will, we are hurting Him but all He does is forgive us.  So why can't we show others that kind of forgiveness?  Alex said in a sermon the other day "when you don't forgive someone, you are holding them back from any kind of relationship with God.  You are also holding yourself back from a relationship with Him."  This really stuck with me because there were people that I wasn't willing to forgive.  Those who had hurt me only minutes ago and those who had hurt me years ago I was so unwilling to forgive- even for the littlest offenses.  But what Alex said has stuck with me and i keep hearing it over and over from other people too so I think maybe I should pay attention to it now.  I was forgiven and saved by a power greater than me and I have been able to forgive myself.  I can move on with my life because the greatest Power I know forgave me and made me feel worthy.  So now it's time to show others that same love and forgiveness.