Forgiveness means you get your peace back
Here is an analogy on what forgiveness is versus what it is not, as well as what so many people falsely believe it is. Let's say you have a home. A person comes in through the front door and ransacks your beautiful home and steals some things. Forgiveness means that you clean up your house. You return your house to the best of your ability to a place of peace. You can still charge them with the crime they committed and go to court, or you may decide to replace what was stolen on your own and not bother going to court. You would most certainly kick them out if they were still standing there and lock the door and not let them come back in. To do otherwise would be setting yourself up for the same to happen again. What most people falsely think forgiveness means is to pretend your home wasn't ransacked and that nothing was stolen. As if the perpetrator stood there after ransacking your home, said, "sorry," and you then let them come and go as they please
