What Is Forgiveness?

When your child says something like, “I wish I’d been born in a different family!” … how do you recover from the hurt?

Hi, I’m Mark Gregston … with Parenting Today’s Teens.

The answer is forgiveness. And if you can grasp this definition, it will make a world of difference in how you handle any struggle with your child.

Here it is: “Forgiveness is giving up hope that you’ll ever have a better past.”

See, your past … and your child’s past … will never change. No one can un-speak the words they’ve spoken … or undo the things they’ve done. But there is still hope for the future!

So learn to forgive your teen in the moment. Give up hope that the past could be different. And no matter what your teen throws at you today … never stop reaching out with love and forgiveness.