Our hurt isn’t always constant. We may learn how to stuff those feelings, even act as if nothing has happened, especially with those who are closest to us. Yet, the hurt cannot be stuffed forever. Only forgiveness lets it out of us.

Sometimes, we might even hold onto hurt because we’re secretly afraid that what the other person did says something about us. We haven’t decided yet if it says anything at all, so we set it in a corner and try to ignore it.

God has no illusions about how we hurt him and others. He knows what we do wrong says nothing about him and everything about us. He is not waiting to interpret our actions as to what they say about him, and decide if he is still good. And because God can forgive that other person, and remind us that he’ll lovingly show us what we need to know about ourselves, when we need to know it, we can give the hurt to him. And come out of hiding.