Whether giving or receiving, forgiveness is the key toward true healing and blessing. God says there are no limits to forgiveness toward others or ourselves. And when Matthew West set out on a journey asking people to share their true life stories, Renée shared about how she chose to forgive the drunk driver who hit and killed her daughter. This remarkable story and others like it bring peace and healing to the one needing and the ones giving forgiveness. Fifty powerful stories share forgiveness through divorce, betrayal, addiction, abandonment, death, and more. Each story ties into the promises of God’s faithfulness and healing, and ends with the story of God’s ultimate forgiveness through the message of salvation. Matthew West is a five-time Grammy® nominee, a multiple ASCAP Christian Music Songwriter/Artist of the Year–winner, and a 2018 Dove Award Songwriter of the Year (Artist) recipient. He has received an American Music Award, a Billboard Music Award, and a K-LOVE Fan Award, and named Billboard’s Hot Christian Songwriter of the Year. He has cohosted the K-LOVE Fan Awards numerous times and has more than 130 songwriting credits to his name, including cuts by Rascal Flatts, Scotty McCreery, Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Mandisa, Danny Gokey, and Casting Crowns. Matthew is the host of the popular weekly podcast The Matthew West Podcast , with more than one million listeners so far. He has written six books to date: Give This Christmas Away ; The Story of Your Life ; Forgiveness ; Today Is Day One ; Hello, My Name Is ; and now his latest, The God Who Stays . He is also passionate about providing hope and healing through the power of prayer and story. Along with his father, Pastor Joe West, they founded popwe, a non-profit ministry helping others to craft, share, and live a more meaningful life. Matthew and his wife, Emily, live in Nashville with their two daughters, Lulu and Delaney, and their dog, Nick. FORGIVENESS By MATTHEW WEST Thomas Nelson Copyright © 2013 Matthew West All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4003-2256-5 Contents Foreword...................................................................viIntroduction...............................................................xiFORGIVING OTHERS...........................................................Renee – TWO PRISONERS, ONE WORD............................................3Joe – RESTORED.............................................................10Alice – FORGIVENESS IS LIKE THE WEATHER....................................18Sharon – THE PREACHER'S WIFE...............................................24Melissa – ERASING THE TAPE.................................................31JUSTICE....................................................................39Krystal – WHERE WERE YOU, GOD?.............................................46Anonymous – THE POWER TO WISH THEM WELL....................................55ASKING FOR FORGIVENESS.....................................................Linda – TIME HEALS NO WOUNDS...............................................63George – SIDE EFFECTS......................................................70David – NO FEAR IN FORGIVENESS.............................................77DON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN..................................................84Josh – SPEAK THE WORDS.....................................................91WHEN FORGIVENESS WON'T COME................................................98FORGIVING YOURSELF.........................................................Jeremy – JESUS STOOPED DOWN................................................109Jordan – HELLO, MY NAME IS.................................................115Rusty – A NUMBER, A DONKEY, AND A NOT-SO-SUBTLE WAKE-UP CALL...............121Ronnie – WHEN LOVING THE UNLOVABLE MEANS YOU...............................128EMBRACING GOD'S FORGIVENESS................................................Ginny – A LIFETIME OF SECRETS..............................................139NOT ANOTHER KNOT...........................................................147Sam – IT'S NOT TOO LATE....................................................154FORGIVENESS FOR ALL........................................................161Eric – NOT GUILTY..........................................................168BEST DAY EVER!.............................................................177Endnotes...................................................................188 CHAPTER 1 FORGIVINGOTHERS This section begins with a true story told by a womannamed Renee. In fact, her story is actually the reasonwhy this little book exists. A few years ago Renee wasamong the first to respond when I asked people to share theirstory. The moment I read her tragically beautiful telling of thefreedom she found in forgiveness, I thought to myself, The wholeworld needs to hear this story. So here it is.... Forgiveness It's the hardest thing to give awayThe last thing on your m