I currently am taking a college class on forgiveness that lasts a semester. Do you think I will be able to master the fine art of forgiveness by then?
It depends on how deeply others hurt you. Deep hurts can take time and should not be rushed. Within a semester, you should be able to make good progress in forgiving. Please keep in mind that we are all imperfect forgivers, as the late Lewis Smedes said in his 1984 book Forgive and Forget. Even if you still have some residual anger left over at the end of the semester, you can continue working on the process of forgiving once the semester ends. Also, please keep in mind that having some residual anger left over does not mean you have not forgiven. As long as the anger is not controlling you, you likely will have forgiven if you wish the other well, see this person’s humanity, and show mercy to the extent this person will let you interact.
