“Forgive them not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!”
~ Matthew 18:22
That’s all Anna recalled about
driving to work that day, when another car swerved into her lane, hitting Anna’s
sedan head-on. With her left leg pinned
between the dashboard and the front seat, Anna drifted in and out of
consciousness for almost an hour before firefighters rescued her.
Her injuries were extensive: her spleen, appendix, and
two-thirds of her colon had to be removed. Besides nearly losing her left foot,
the crash shattered her left arm and punctured a lung.
She learned weeks later that the 33-year-old who’d caused
the accident had had a blood-alcohol level well beyond the legal limit. The driver’s lack of insurance left Anna saddled
with huge medical bills. Then after recuperating
for nearly a year, her employer ‘laid her
off.’
The night before the court appearance when she’d confront the
woman who caused the accident, Anna had a dream; more like a vision. She remembered thinking she was going to die. Pain seared through her legs again; her chest
felt like it would explode.
Then a figure approached.
Not human, but human form. It wasn’t
reflecting light, but emitting it, actually glowing from within. Anna was strangely reassured by its presence. A soft whisper echoed over and over: “Let it
go Anna . . . let it go.”
She woke abruptly, breathing heavily, like she’d had been
crying.
Two years had passed since the accident - the day she almost
died. Over time the pain boiled away;
her body healed itself. But her anger had
intensified. Anna knew she needed one
last thing to close the door on that day, that accident, that time she’d faced
death.
In the courtroom the next day, Anna approached the public
defender. “Please let your client know
that I forgive her. I wasn’t in control
of her actions that morning,” she said. “But
I’m entirely in control of how I respond from this day forward. So I chose forgiveness over hatred.”
We’ve all been hurt by another person at some time or another. And while this pain is normal, sometimes that
pain lingers for too long. We relive the
pain over and over, and have a hard time letting go. Trapped in a cycle of bitterness, we miss out
on the beauty of life as it happens.
Forgiveness doesn’t come easy. But, when we continue to place blame, we’re
the ones who suffer most. When we choose
to forgive, the Lord sets our hearts free from the anger, resentment and hurt
that imprisoned us.
Dear Lord, help me forgive when everything
inside me tells me not to. Help me let
go when my heart is breaking. Give me
the inner strength to heal and not to break, to comfort and not to destroy, to
repay good for evil and love for hatred. Amen
