I am sure you have heard forgive and forget. First that is wrong. Yes you should forgive, but there is no reason to forget. So what is forgiveness, it is the process by which you basically wipe the slate clean or cancel out their debt or trespasses.
We are asked to forgive in the bible:
Matthew 6:5-15 New International Version (NIV)
Prayer
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Does this mean you forget what they had done, the answer is no. It does not mean you have to hang out with them or associate with them nor does it mean that you have to trust them. It simply means that you let God handle whatever sin they have committed against you and you will bring it up no more, that is it is no longer yours to be concerned about.
Now I know people will say then you have not forgiven them if you are not willing to hang out with them. That is not true. I may forgive a killer for killing someone I love, but that does not mean we are going to be best buddies and hang out together. It means it is now the Lords and He can do with the sin as He sees fit.
Understand that no where did I say forgiveness was easy. It is not. It means letting go of that thing whatever it is you are holding on too and that can be hard. However, most of the time because we have to be Politically Correct these days we cannot tell a person that they have hurt me and here is why? How could we possible express such negativity towards another by telling them they have wronged me. Just think how the world would be if people were a little more open about the hurt they received due to another.
I pray that if you are holding onto something that is preventing you from forgiving that person that you can obtain peace through Christ and the Lord by accepting Christ and giving the sin that this person has committed against you to the Lord. You will have more peace if you can do this.
Have a blessed and awesome day