My dear brothers and sisters and friends, I come before you humbly and prayerfully. I wish to speak on the healing power of forgiveness.
In the beautiful hills of Pennsylvania, a devout group of Christian people live a simple life without automobiles, electricity, or modern machinery. They work hard and live quiet, peaceful lives separate from the world. Most of their food comes from their own farms. The women sew and knit and weave their clothing, which is modest and plain. They are known as the Amish people.
A 32-year-old milk truck driver lived with his family in their Nickel Mines community. He was not Amish, but his pickup route took him to many Amish dairy farms, where he became known as the quiet milkman. Last October he suddenly lost all reason and control. In his tormented mind he blamed God for the death of his first child and some unsubstantiated memories. He stormed into the Amish school without any provocation, released the boys and adults, and tied up the 10 girls. He shot the girls, killing five and wounding five. Then he took his own life.
This shocking violence caused great anguish among the Amish but no anger. There was hurt but no hate. Their forgiveness was immediate. Collectively they began to reach out to the milkman?s suffering family. As the milkman?s family gathered in his home the day after the shootings, an Amish neighbor came over, wrapped his arms around the father of the dead gunman, and said, ?We will forgive you.? Amish leaders visited the milkman?s wife and children to extend their sympathy, their forgiveness, their help, and their love. About half of the mourners at the milkman?s funeral were Amish. In turn, the Amish invited the milkman?s family to attend the funeral services of the girls who had been killed. A remarkable peace settled on the Amish as their faith sustained them during this crisis.
One local resident very eloquently summed up the aftermath of this tragedy when he said, ?We were all speaking the same language, and not just English, but a language of caring, a language of community, [and] a language of service. And, yes, a language of forgiveness.? It was an amazing outpouring of their complete faith in the Lord?s teachings in the Sermon on the Mount: ?Do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.?
The family of the milkman who killed the five girls released the following statement to the public:
?To our Amish friends, neighbors, and local community:
?Our family wants each of you to know that we are overwhelmed by the forgiveness, grace, and mercy that you?ve extended to us. Your love for our family has helped to provide the healing we so desperately need. The prayers, flowers, cards, and gifts you?ve given have touched our hearts in a way no words can describe. Your compassion has reached beyond our family, beyond our community, and is changing our world, and for this we sincerely thank you.
?Please know that our hearts have been broken by all that has happened. We are filled with sorrow for all of our Amish neighbors whom we have loved and continue to love. We know that there are many hard days ahead for all the families who lost loved ones, and so we will continue to put our hope and trust in the God of all comfort, as we all seek to rebuild our lives.?
How could the whole Amish group manifest such an expression of forgiveness? It was because of their faith in God and trust in His word, which is part of their inner beings. They see themselves as disciples of Christ and want to follow His example.
Hearing of this tragedy, many people sent money to the Amish to pay for the health care of the five surviving girls and for the burial expenses of the five who were killed. As a further demonstration of their discipleship, the Amish decided to share some of the money with the widow of the milkman and her three children because they too were victims of this terrible tragedy.
Forgiveness is not always instantaneous as it was with the Amish. When innocent children have been molested or killed, most of us do not think first about forgiveness. Our natural response is anger. We may even feel justified in wanting to ?get even? with anyone who inflicts injury on us or our family.
Dr. Sidney Simon, a recognized authority on values realization, has provided an excellent definition of forgiveness as it applies to human relationships:
?Forgiveness is freeing up and putting to better use the energy once consumed by holding grudges, harboring resentments, and nursing unhealed wounds. It is rediscovering the strengths we always had and relocating our limitless capacity to understand and accept other people and ourselves.?
Thoughts, Theories and Ponderables
Moderator: Priests of Syrinx
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ElfDude
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This is a long one, but well worth it (IMO). From a talk given about a year ago by one of my church leaders. I won't include anything particularly preachy. Just a heart-wrenching (and heart-warming) story that includes some good advice for all of us.
Aren't you the guy who hit me in the eye?
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Big Blue Owl
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Walkinghairball
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- Location: In a rock an roll venue near you....as long as you are in the Pacific Northwest.
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Big Blue Owl
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Walkinghairball
- Posts: 25037
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- Location: In a rock an roll venue near you....as long as you are in the Pacific Northwest.
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Walkinghairball
- Posts: 25037
- Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2004 9:42 pm
- Location: In a rock an roll venue near you....as long as you are in the Pacific Northwest.
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Walkinghairball
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- Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2004 9:42 pm
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http://www.snopes.com/military/flagball.asp
I wasn't totally correct, but I knew that info cold when I was in the Army.
I wasn't totally correct, but I knew that info cold when I was in the Army.
This space for rent
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Big Blue Owl
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Wow, cool. It was an intriguing question even without such a deep answer. Now it's something I'll never forget (and can see myself telling this to young-uns when I'm some 75 year-old mutant trying to get some attention from....well, anybody, really. 
Wait, I just told it to someone at work...see? Cool.
Wait, I just told it to someone at work...see? Cool.
(((((((((((((((all'a you)))))))))))))))
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Walkinghairball
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I was pondering the tracks of life this morning wondering embracing the exclusive realms of our minds arena changing our ordinary mode of consciousness in the mystic creative process thoughts of animated landscapes of preganant words like this evoking dreamscapes of our minds dancing across our lifes canvas vibrating with emotion our very naked existence, a paradox of self awareness intensity of dimensions manifest inside out upon spatial relationships a true picture of egolessness or our barbless minds I am just saying wondering come inside forget what you think you know and fly with the Amish they seem to know what love really is.
Last edited by Me on Tue Apr 08, 2008 10:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
Just a personal thought...not my life story, mind you, but a good
moral for us all:
After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another
woman out to dinner and a movie.
She said, "I love you, but I know this other woman loves you and
would love to spend some time with you."
The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my Mother,
who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work
and my three children had made it possible to visit her only
occasionally.
That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie.
"What's wrong, are you well," she asked? (My mother is the type
of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation
is a sign of bad news.)
"I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time with you,"
I responded "just the two of us." She thought about it for a moment,
and then said, "I would like that very much."
That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit
nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed
to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on.
She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn
to celebrate her last wedding anniversary.
She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel's.
"I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they
were impressed!" she said, as she got into the car. "They can't wait
to hear about our meeting."
We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice
and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady.
After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print.
Half way through the entries, I lifted my eyes and saw
Mother sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips.
"It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small,"
she said "Then it's time that you relax and let me return the favor,"
I responded.
During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation -
nothing extraordinary, but catching up on recent events of each other's life.
We talked so much that we missed the movie. As we arrived at her
house later, she said, "I'll go out with you again, but only if you let
me invite you." I agreed.
"How was your dinner date?" asked my wife when I got home. "Very
nice, much more so than I could have imagined," I answered.
A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It
happened so suddenly that I didn't have a chance to do anything for
her. Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a
restaurant receipt from the same place Mother and I had dined.
An attached note said:
"I paid this bill in advance. I wasn't sure that I could be there;
but nevertheless, I paid for two plates - one for you and the other for
your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me.
I love you, son."
At that moment, I understood the importance of saying - in time:
"I love you," and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing
in life is more important than our family. Give them the time
they deserve, because these things cannot be put off until 'some
other time.'
Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you've had a baby....
that somebody doesn't know that once you're a mother, "normal" is history.
Somebody said you can't love the second child as much as you love the first....
that somebody doesn't have two or more children.
Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery....
that somebody never watched her "baby" get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten...
or on a plane headed for military "boot camp."
Somebody said a Mother can stop worrying after her child gets married...
well, that somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a new son or
daughter-in-law to a Mother's heartstrings.
Somebody said a Mother's job is done when her last child leaves home....
that somebody never had grandchildren.
Somebody said your Mother knows you love her, so
you don't need to tell her... that somebody isn't a Mother.
This isn't just about being a Mother; it's about appreciating the people
in your lives while you have them....no matter who that person is.
Thanks for teaching me that Mom.
"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some
kind of battle."
moral for us all:
After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another
woman out to dinner and a movie.
She said, "I love you, but I know this other woman loves you and
would love to spend some time with you."
The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my Mother,
who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work
and my three children had made it possible to visit her only
occasionally.
That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie.
"What's wrong, are you well," she asked? (My mother is the type
of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation
is a sign of bad news.)
"I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time with you,"
I responded "just the two of us." She thought about it for a moment,
and then said, "I would like that very much."
That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit
nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed
to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on.
She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn
to celebrate her last wedding anniversary.
She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel's.
"I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they
were impressed!" she said, as she got into the car. "They can't wait
to hear about our meeting."
We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice
and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady.
After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print.
Half way through the entries, I lifted my eyes and saw
Mother sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips.
"It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small,"
she said "Then it's time that you relax and let me return the favor,"
I responded.
During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation -
nothing extraordinary, but catching up on recent events of each other's life.
We talked so much that we missed the movie. As we arrived at her
house later, she said, "I'll go out with you again, but only if you let
me invite you." I agreed.
"How was your dinner date?" asked my wife when I got home. "Very
nice, much more so than I could have imagined," I answered.
A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It
happened so suddenly that I didn't have a chance to do anything for
her. Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a
restaurant receipt from the same place Mother and I had dined.
An attached note said:
"I paid this bill in advance. I wasn't sure that I could be there;
but nevertheless, I paid for two plates - one for you and the other for
your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me.
I love you, son."
At that moment, I understood the importance of saying - in time:
"I love you," and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing
in life is more important than our family. Give them the time
they deserve, because these things cannot be put off until 'some
other time.'
Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you've had a baby....
that somebody doesn't know that once you're a mother, "normal" is history.
Somebody said you can't love the second child as much as you love the first....
that somebody doesn't have two or more children.
Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery....
that somebody never watched her "baby" get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten...
or on a plane headed for military "boot camp."
Somebody said a Mother can stop worrying after her child gets married...
well, that somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a new son or
daughter-in-law to a Mother's heartstrings.
Somebody said a Mother's job is done when her last child leaves home....
that somebody never had grandchildren.
Somebody said your Mother knows you love her, so
you don't need to tell her... that somebody isn't a Mother.
This isn't just about being a Mother; it's about appreciating the people
in your lives while you have them....no matter who that person is.
Thanks for teaching me that Mom.
"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some
kind of battle."
Don't start none...won't be none.