Your heart: a flower amongst the weeds

Lately, I have been dealing with some emotions of forgiveness...well, more like coming to the realization that I haven't forgiven some wrongs done to me in the past.  Some wrongs that date all the way back to the 2nd grade... its awful how some hurtful things stick with you throughout your life no matter how hard you try to forget them.  I don't understand how people forgive and forget.  I don't understand how freely and easily God forgives us every day... how He already forgave us long ago before we even did anything when He KNEW we were going to hurt him almost on a daily basis... He still loves us, still forgave us before our existence, and how He continues to give us grace.
I was trying to think of how the picture looks of our hearts when we don't allow forgiveness to dwell in them.  I imagine its dark and dried up and just rotten...which those thoughts made me think of shriveled leaves and dried up weeds.
Then I thought, you know... our hearts are sometimes like a flower. A flower growing amongst the weeds. When we get hurt, we try to get over it... but the weeds which are like our bitterness, hurt, and anger, they keep growing more weeds than there are flowers.  If you don't pick the weeds, they will keep growing and quench the growth and life out of the flower... despite all of the rain and sun it gets in order to grow and prosper and be its full potential of beauty and grace.
When we let it get out of control we take our issues out on others and it creeps into other parts of our life...then to outsiders all they see are weeds... soon they can't even see the flower.
I have let myself get to that point sometimes... right now especially.  There are 4 people that were in my life that have caused me more grief, pain, and anger and my unforgiveness is my weeds growing out of control. I don't know how people forgive others... especially when the wrong done to them effects their whole life and so many areas of it.  It seeps into all of your relationships and how you look/interact with other people.  And the funny thing is.... those people don't even give you a second thought right now I'm sure.... or what they've done to you, but its embedded in your heart and mind.
I need to learn how to forgive.  A wise woman (my mom) said to me today that "you know you haven't forgiven that person because any little thing that reminds you of them make you angry... just because you forgive doesn't mean its not going to hurt.. it will hurt but at least your anger won't be there anymore."

We need to daily pull the weeds out so our flower (heart) can grow.  We need to forgive so we can live our life and let others be able to walk by and actually see our beautiful colors and admire our growing flowers and not be hidden underneath all of those weeds.
You never know who needs to see your healed, growing flower... it might just be the thing that helps them pull their own weeds away from their life.
It may take me a while but I am hopeful and wanting to get to that place of compassion and forgiveness.

I've let the weeds grow to high.... but at least the pulling process has begun.