by Staff Writer Arianna Zander

Sweetness dripped off her words like rain, and at each sentence, I felt my hands clench. I knew what she did to my family. The rumors she’d spread, the accusations, the blackmail. “I was only trying to help,” she said, “it was my Christian duty.” Maybe she actually thought that. Or maybe it was just another lie.

I didn’t expect an apology, but when she left without offering one, it still hurt. So many emotions came to life in that moment. Bitterness. Anger. Pain.

I wanted revenge. I wanted someone to betray her the way she’d betrayed me. I wanted her life to crash into a thousand pieces the way mine had. But then God whispered a reminder into my ears.

How many times have I given you a second chance?

It took some time, but God eventually gave me the strength to forgive her. Even though she didn’t ask for it. Even though she continued to attack my family. Even though she disapproved of my every move. In Colossians 3:13 it says this:

“Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”

I’m stubborn. Sometimes, I hold grudges for a ridiculous amount of time! But just as God offers me grace again and again, I’m slowly learning to extend this to others, one day at a time.

Arianna Zander is a high school student living in Europe with her family as missionaries. When she’s not helping out in the ministry, her interests include writing short stories and novels, jewelry design, drawing, foreign languages, and comedy.