For me, I had bitterness in my heart against my father and some others. The Holy Spirit revealed to me that I needed to apologize to my father for the way I had responded to his neglect and lack of apparent love for me. I always wanted him to apologize to me first because he had never called me once in 50 years and asked how I was doing or to tell me that he loved me. But God told me that I was to apologize to my father, not vice-versa, for my negative attitude to him, and that I had not responded in a Christlike way. Let me tell you that I learned a powerful truth in doing so and that was this: "By love is love awakened." When I forgave my father, he started to cry and said: "I should be apologizing to you." The last years of his life were our best. He kissed me and told me he loved me every time I went to see him before his death only a few months after my mother died. I realized that he had never heard the words I longed for from his father. I learned my dad was sharing my achievements with his friends, and was telling everyone but me. 
     In addition to the loss of both my parents, I went through another huge trial a few months later. With the help of John Regier from Biblical Concepts in Counseling in Colorado Springs and a victory prayer he gave me, I gained the victory over my negative emotions of bitterness and anger. I also learned how to forgive everyone who had hurt me. In my workbook from Regier called Biblical Concepts Counseling Workbook, I wrote the names of everyone I could remember that had hurt me, how they hurt me, and the emotional pain I felt from their actions. I would review the list twice a day and pray the victory prayer each time. John Regier assured me that the pain would eventually leave, and I would find peace by forgiving them for the emotional pain they had caused me. On day 45 of the exercise, the pain finally lifted and I was set free for the first time in 50 years.