There is nothing like the feeling just after the semester ends. Everything is done. It may not have been perfect, but it is finally over. Freedom.
I can still remember the stress and worry that accompanied final exams and projects as the end of the semester approached in own my college days. It was an almost physical sense of carrying so much. Yet, once all the finals were finished and the projects were completed, I felt a remarkable sense of relief and freedom. The contrast with the previous burdens I felt was dramatic. It was like a literal load had been lifted off my shoulders. The semester was over and I was no longer working toward deadlines or behind on anything academic. It is a wonderful feeling.
I think this feeling at the end of the semester is a helpful way to talk about the experience of forgiveness. No matter what has happened before, it is all over. Forgiveness is a refreshing freedom from the past. Burdens and expectations wiped clean. A brand-new start. That’s what forgiveness feels like. That’s what forgiveness really is.
Of course, sometimes there are implications that remain after forgiveness; consequences that are not erased by the end of the semester or by being forgiven. Yet, the freedom is still overwhelming. The opportunity to begin again is life-giving.
As you enjoy unique feeling of being set free from things that only comes at the end of the semester, the academic year, and your college years, remember that feeling. It’s a good example of what forgiveness truly is.