“Suffering builds character, which gives us a hope.
Romans 5:3-4
It was the call no one should ever
have to make – the call to a close friend at work announcing that his wife had
been killed by a teenage girl on the way to school. Probably distracted, died at the scene,
police investigating, manslaughter charges pending.
The news passed through Anton like a hurricane. Everything they’d worked and struggled for
suddenly lay in ruins. His heart nearly
stopped beating as he fought the mind-numbing fog about to consume him.
“How is the girl?” Anton asked. “Was she hurt too?" Jamal couldn't believe his friend’s first
response to such devastating news was concern for the girl. “Ask her if it’d be OK for me to stop by later
this week and talk with her.”
Darcy wanted to decline but knew she couldn't. He needed to get it off his chest, she
reasoned. Terrified, she reluctantly
agreed to meet Anton.
Anton greeted a girl of eighteen, maybe less, who averted his
gaze. Darcy’s handshake was delicate and
clammy; her eyes were wide as if someone was coming to deliver a fatal blow.
The burly, middle-aged man stepped toward the girl, not with
bitterness in his eyes, but with arms outstretched, scooping her up in a warm
embrace.
Tears that she’d been fighting back began flowing freely
onto his flannel shirt. Darcy couldn’t
stop repeating, "I'm so sorry. I'm
so sorry." Once she regained her
composure, Anton motioned her to a window seat and began telling Darcy things
he wanted her to know about his wife Rachel’s life.
"There was no
limit to how much she loved the Lord," Anton began. "She enjoyed a
close, intimate walk with God. She lived
every day as if it could be her last on Earth, and never left the house on her
morning ride without hugging me as if she might be saying goodbye for the last
time."
Anton had her full attention as he continued. "Darcy, even
though this caught us all by surprise, it was no surprise to God. He also knows that you’re strong enough to
handle this. You can't let this ruin
your life. He wants to use you for His
glory; to love Jesus without limits, just like Rachel did."
“I asked the DA drop all charges against you without a
trial. What would be the purpose of
making your life more miserable?"
Darcy kept waiting for Anton to dish out some reprimand, but
none came. His mercy - along with his
challenge to her that night, would comfort her for years to come. God took that horrific event and turned it
into something beautiful.
Darcy gradually went from feeling "guilty” to feeling
"chosen." She chose to carryon
Rachel’s legacy of being a godly woman who loved Jesus beyond measure with her own
life.
God of Forgiveness, bitterness is the poison
we swallow, hoping the other person dies.
Release this terrible burden by experiencing the cleansing power of
forgiveness even though I hate what they did. Amen
