The father looked at his son, the hate in his eyes, a piercing pain – yet he believed that one day he would understand and feel the release that comes with forgiveness. The father himself experienced the freedom to love once you learn to forgive, not for others, but for yourself. He’s life was fuelled by hate since the age of 9, and it chained him to living in the past. The many what if’s held him back and as he grew older it clouded his judgement and decision making.

The father knows that it is never too late to forgive, but it comes with acceptance and the will to move on. It requires an understanding of the self, and the knowledge that forgiveness is never a sign of weakness, but a sign of overcoming life’s greatest challenge – rejecting the hatred, accepting the pain, and acknowledging that your life deserves a more loving you. It is never too late to forgive yourself and others.

This, a brief introduction of the journey my family walked with forgiveness. Both my parents were abandoned by a parent.

Now imagine their pain when they had to abandon their own son . . . Addiction destroys many lives, and people look at the addict, and forget about the broken families they leave behind. Today my mother struggles with the knowledge that she abandoned her son at a time where others may have believed he needed her most. But when it comes to life with an addict, nothing is ever as it seems.

For a long time my brother hated my father, the head of our family. He hated my father because we all walked out on him and we left him on the streets, homeless and addicted to tik. Letting go and accepting that we could not change him required a courage and faith. Letting go was the most difficult decision my parents ever had to make, and to this day, the memory of my homeless brother and the constant ringing of our doorbell in the early hours of the morning haunts me.

It haunts me like a bad dream, but one with a happy ending. It is never too late to make radical change in your life. It is never too late to let go, and let others be. It is never too late to accept that you cannot change the people around you. Remember you are the only one that holds the key to your happiness.

This post was published as a Facebook prompt from Nicole Bredeveldt, who co-blogs on the graphics side, with her twin sister at Chears.