--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our history is an inevitable component of…" description: "\"Our history is an inevitable component of our being. One thing only can release us from the grip of our history. That one thing is forgiveness.\" — Lewi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/lewis-b-smedes-4850_forgiveness_our-history-is-an-inevitable-component-o_2552357.png" --- # Our history is an inevitable component of our being. One… ![“Our history is an inevitable component of our being. One thing only can release us from the grip of our history. That one thing is forgiveness.” quote by Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/lewis-b-smedes-4850_forgiveness_our-history-is-an-inevitable-component-o_2552357.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/lewis-b-smedes-4850_forgiveness_our-history-is-an-inevitable-component-o_2552357.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/lewis-b-smedes-4850_forgiveness_our-history-is-an-inevitable-component-o_2552357.png) > “Our history is an inevitable component of our being. One thing only can release us from the grip of our history. That one thing is forgiveness.” [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our past shapes us, but forgiveness frees us from its grip. **In simple terms:** History defines us, forgiveness releases us. Key Takeaway Practice forgiveness to move beyond past burdens. Themes psychology spirituality healing Mood reflective hopeful Type self‑help inspirational When to use this quote - relationships - personal trauma - intergenerational conflict Key Concepts forgiveness self‑release personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What holds you back from forgiving? - Can forgiveness coexist with accountability? A Different Perspective Forgiveness may be difficult when pain is deep. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Forgiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ## Related quotes > [“Fatalism in history is inevitable for the explanation of senseless phenomena (that is, those whose sense we do not understand).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/fatalism-in-history-is-inevitable-for-the-explanation-of-senseless/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“Money is normative. So pervasive is its influence on our lives that it makes less moneyed ages incomprehensible, consigning them to barbarism or folklore.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buchan/money-is-normative-so-pervasive-is-its-influence-on-our-lives-that-it/) [James Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buchan/) > [“Our earth was just one thin example of what was possible, and because it was possible, this history was inevitable”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bear/our-earth-was-just-one-thin-example-of-what-was-possible-and-because/) [Elizabeth Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bear/) > [Write to register history, and name each thing. Write what should not be forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/write-to-register-history-and-name-each-thing-write-what-should-not/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“None of it seemed very real, but I suppose that's the trouble with history. It's the one thing we have to make up for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/none-of-it-seemed-very-real-but-i-suppose-that-s-the-trouble-with/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [History is the same thing over and over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/history-is-the-same-thing-over-and-over-again/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [Perhaps history is a thing that would stop happening if God held His breath, or could be imagined as turning away to think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/perhaps-history-is-a-thing-that-would-stop-happening-if-god-held-his/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [I love history. It was the only thing I did well at in school. I'm not ashamed to admit that I was not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-love-history-it-was-the-only-thing-i-did-well-at-in-school-i-m-not/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [History is one thing that nobody can take away. No matter what anybody says or whose side you're on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-pang/history-is-one-thing-that-nobody-can-take-away-no-matter-what-anybody/) [May Pang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-pang/) > [“you might go down in history ,but every thing gose down eventually.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/you-might-go-down-in-history-but-every-thing-gose-down-eventually/) [lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [if you understand something, you don't forgive it, you are the thing itself: forgiveness is for what you don't understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/if-you-understand-something-you-don-t-forgive-it-you-are-the-thing/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“The funny thing about forgiveness is that God is much freer with it than humans are.” She”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-cash-tate/the-funny-thing-about-forgiveness-is-that-god-is-much-freer-with-it/) [Kim Cash Tate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-cash-tate/) > [“What they didn’t understand then was that love, or even the play at love, wasn’t the same thing as forgiveness, which was what neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-rasmussen/what-they-didn-t-understand-then-was-that-love-or-even-the-play-at/) [Rebecca Rasmussen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-rasmussen/) > [“It was a funny thing, forgiveness. You could spend years being angry with someone and then realize you no longer felt the same, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-ko/it-was-a-funny-thing-forgiveness-you-could-spend-years-being-angry/) [Lisa Ko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-ko/) > [“Maybe they will only find one another by being somewhere they have never been and maybe none of this has a thing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikl-paul/maybe-they-will-only-find-one-another-by-being-somewhere-they-have/) [Mikl Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikl-paul/) ## More by Lewis B. Smedes > [Nothing is more private than a woman's body; it is her physical, emotional, and moral citadel. She cannot be free at all if she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/nothing-is-more-private-than-a-woman-s-body-it-is-her-physical/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [...Forgiving is not having to understand. Understanding may come later, in fragments, an insight here and a glimpse there, after forgiving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/forgiving-is-not-having-to-understand-understanding-may-come-later-in/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [The God who has the whole world in his hands has grace for the whole world in his heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/the-god-who-has-the-whole-world-in-his-hands-has-grace-for-the-whole/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Nobody sees reality whole; we all need others to show us the parts of it that they see better than we do. Nobody sees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/nobody-sees-reality-whole-we-all-need-others-to-show-us-the-parts-of/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [I have discovered that most people who tell me that they cannot forgive a person who wronged them are handicapped by a mistaken understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/i-have-discovered-that-most-people-who-tell-me-that-they-cannot/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Spoken forgiveness, no matter how heartfelt, works best when we do not demand the response we want. I mean that when we tell people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/spoken-forgiveness-no-matter-how-heartfelt-works-best-when-we-do-not/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/forgiving-does-not-erase-the-bitter-past-a-healed-memory-is-not-a/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [We feel properly embarrassed when we are caught doing something that makes us look inept, knuckleheaded, or inappropriate. Maybe the difference is this: we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/we-feel-properly-embarrassed-when-we-are-caught-doing-something-that/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/forgiving-does-not-erase-the-bitter-past-a-healed-memory-is-not-a-2/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [When I feel the joy of receiving a gift my heart nudges me to join creation's ballet, the airy dance of giving and receiving,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/when-i-feel-the-joy-of-receiving-a-gift-my-heart-nudges-me-to-join/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Our sense of fairness tells us that people should pay for the wrong they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/our-sense-of-fairness-tells-us-that-people-should-pay-for-the-wrong/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Gratitude is the best feeling I would ever have, the ultimate joy of living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/gratitude-is-the-best-feeling-i-would-ever-have-the-ultimate-joy-of/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [My father was only thirty-one when he died of a heart attack, much too young for a father to die and leave his young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/my-father-was-only-thirty-one-when-he-died-of-a-heart-attack-much-too/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [The only way to heal the pain which will not heal itself is to forgive the person who hurt you. Forgiveness heals the memory's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/the-only-way-to-heal-the-pain-which-will-not-heal-itself-is-to/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [If you cannot free people from their wrongs and see them as the needy people they are, you enslave yourself to your own painful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/if-you-cannot-free-people-from-their-wrongs-and-see-them-as-the-needy/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) [Explore all 106 Lewis B. Smedes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) ## More Forgiveness quotes > [“Lord I come before you, I repent all my sins; forgive me. I repent on behalf of my children forgive them Lord. Help them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euginia-herlihy/lord-i-come-before-you-i-repent-all-my-sins-forgive-me-i-repent-on/) [Euginia Herlihy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euginia-herlihy/) > [Forgiveness is not saying, What you did to me is okay. It is saying, Im not going to let what you did to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate/forgiveness-is-not-saying-what-you-did-to-me-is-okay-it-is-saying-im/) [Nate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate/) > [“So in practicing blanket forgiveness you first assume that in any current condition of pain or discomfort there is some anger involved, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-kahili-king/so-in-practicing-blanket-forgiveness-you-first-assume-that-in-any/) Serge Kahili King > [Do what is given to you, and do it well, and you will have done enough...live together in the forgiveness of your sins. Forgive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-what-is-given-to-you-and-do-it-well-and-you-will-have-done-enough/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The public, more often than not, will forgive mistakes, but it will not forgive trying to wiggle out of one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-grizzard/the-public-more-often-than-not-will-forgive-mistakes-but-it-will-not/) [Lewis Grizzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-grizzard/) > [A Real Boyfriend does the sweetest things randomly because he never wants her to feel unappreciated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enhance-dreams/a-real-boyfriend-does-the-sweetest-things-randomly-because-he-never/) Enhance Dreams > [“(Evil people) do not believe in forgiveness. Their transgressions are either punished or not punished. That is the only result that matters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mchugh/evil-people-do-not-believe-in-forgiveness-their-transgressions-are/) [Daniel McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mchugh/) > [Friendship means understanding, not argument. it means forgiveness, not forgetting. it means the memories last, even if contact is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sokhom/friendship-means-understanding-not-argument-it-means-forgiveness-not/) [Sokhom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sokhom/) > [Grace is the wonderful spirit that imbues every fiber of our being when we practice the fruits of the spirit: kindness, patience, understanding, forgiveness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-cayce/grace-is-the-wonderful-spirit-that-imbues-every-fiber-of-our-being/) [Edgar Cayce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-cayce/) > [One of the most basic principles for making and keeping peace within and between nations. . . is that in political, military, moral, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/one-of-the-most-basic-principles-for-making-and-keeping-peace-within/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [“Have an open mind and heart. Learn to journey in understanding and forgiveness. It's not always going to be easy but it will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-elle/have-an-open-mind-and-heart-learn-to-journey-in-understanding-and/) [Alexandra Elle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-elle/) > [Forgive us our trespasses," says Margarethe, "and get out of our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/forgive-us-our-trespasses-says-margarethe-and-get-out-of-our-way/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [“ving self and others is an every second of every day of every week, of every month, of every year gift that should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/ving-self-and-others-is-an-every-second-of-every-day-of-every-week-of/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [Forgive yourself for not being the richest, the thinnest, the tallest, the one with the best hair. Forgive yourself for not being the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/forgive-yourself-for-not-being-the-richest-the-thinnest-the-tallest/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If you can't forgive and forget, pick only one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-brault/if-you-can-t-forgive-and-forget-pick-only-one/) [Robert Brault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-brault/) [Browse all 8,311 Forgiveness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our history is an inevitable component of our being. One thing only can release us from the grip of our history. That one thing is forgiveness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lewis B. 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