Reclaim Your Life

I think the first step is to understand that forgiveness does not exonerate the perpetrator. Forgiveness liberates the victim. It’s a gift you give yourself. – T.D. Jakes

When it comes to recovering after breakup or divorce, one of the important things one must do is practice forgiveness. It’s necessary to understand that you are not doing this for another person, you are actually doing yourself a favor and giving yourself a gift of freedom and pursuit of happiness. It is not about getting the other person off the hook however they wronged you or however they made you feel it is all actually about you.

And of course, it can be difficult to forgive, especially if you've been married for a long time or have been in a long-term relationship. And you dedicated your life, your attention, your love, all your good qualities to the other person. And you may have put them on a pedestal and have forgotten about yourself. Forgiving them may be very hard and it will take some...

“Sometimes it takes a heartbreak to shake us awake and help us see we are worth so much more than we’re settling for.” – Mandy Hale

After being in a long term relationship for 5 years or more, you would feel lonely being by yourself. But fear not, that is a normal feeling to have. After all, you thought you had a family, being a good wife and a mom, now faced with uncertainty and pangs of self-worthiness. What you once knew, no longer applies, and you need to develop a new outlook. Often times we look for society, friends and family to dictate the rules we live by. We determine what is considered normal and what is wacky. Growing up, the idea of a family consisted of mom and dad and kids living together under one roof; divorced people were considered defaulted, void, someone who could not love anymore.

But break up changed that. Everywhere I looked there were complete families and there I was all by myself and my kids. The question raised in my...