We think that forgiveness is weakness, but it's absolutely not; it takes a very strong person to forgive.
Children are not unforgiving. You can punish them and they will hug you in a few minutes.
So though there are many things I would have done differently, I submit to God's sovereignty and His purpose in my life and I thank Him that He brought me the way He brought me and gave me what He gave me when He thought I could handle it.
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.
We develop our propensity to forgive or not to forgive by what we see illustrated at the early ages of our development.
As a Christian, Christ died so that we will have eternal life in Him in Heaven. What it looks like doesn't matter, what it smells like doesn't matter, as long as Christ is there it will be Heaven to me.