Experiencing True Forgiveness….
I was listening to our local Christian radio station this morning, and during the news time, they were covering the trial of Bobby Lee Cutts, Jr.. Cutts was found guilty of murder his girlfriend, Jessie Marie Davis, who was 9 months pregnant at the time. He will be in prison for at least 57 years. The jurors spared him the death penalty. As I was listening to the victim impact statements given by the woman’s family, I broke down and cried during her mother’s words….
And, tears rolled down Cutts’ face as Davis’ mother, Patricia Porter, spoke of her grief. “There are mornings I have to cover her picture up, when I can’t get out of bed.”
She continued, “I serve an amazing God, Bobby. A God that forgives and heals and restores people. And all I know today is that I do forgive you, and I know it is only through him that I am able to do that.”
Then she turned to the judge: “I may not have family to go home to after this, but I pray that you make a way for him to get out of there and begin a new life, and to be able to hold his son.” (To read the full story, visit CNN’s Website .)
I have a hard time forgiving petty things, I can’t even imagine forgiving a man that murdered my child and grandchild.
When we don’t forgive, we become hostage to our anger and bitterness. A huge weight gets lifted and we are freed when we offer forgiveness to those that have hurt us. I’m sure that Patricia Porter will think about her daughter for the rest of her life and will probably grieve to some extent every day, but she knows that her daughter and grandchild are in heaven. And she has a shoulder to lean on. A shoulder much stronger than any human being can offer. God offers comfort to his children sometimes in ways we can never imagine. God spoke to this woman and gave her the courage (wow, what courage) to say those three words… “I forgive you” for this heinous crime you committed against my family. Hopefully Patricia Porter will be a role model and example for us all.
I sometimes wonder how to tell if you have truly forgiven someone. Then I found this quote. (it is not excusing the wrong that has been done, but give a neat perspective)
“How does one know if he has forgiven?
You tend to feel sorrow over the circumstance instead of rage,
you tend to feel sorry for the person rather than angry with him.
You tend to have nothing left to say about it all.”
– Clarissa Pinkola Estes
I went looking for some more forgiveness quotes. These are my favorites….
“When we forgive evil we do not excuse it,
we do not tolerate it, we do not smother it.
We look the evil full in the face, call it what it is,
let its horror shock and stun and enrage us,
and only then do we forgive it.”
– Lewis B. Smedes
To forgive is to set a prisoner free
and discover the prisoner was YOU.
~unknown author
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
~Mahatma Gandhi
Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.
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~Paul Boese
Take it slowly. The deepest resentments are wrapped up in a lot of hurt and pain. We think we’re protecting ourselves by not forgiving. Acknowledge that and go easy on yourself. Forgiveness means that you’ve decided not to let it keep festering inside even if it only comes up once in awhile. Forgiveness is a powerful yet challenging tool that will support and honor you, even in the most extreme circumstances.
~unknown
He who cannot forgive breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass.
~George Herbert
“When a deep injury is done us, we never recover until we forgive”
~Alan Paton
“Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness.”
~H. Jackson Brown Jr.
“Forgiveness is the needle that knows how to mend.”
~Jewel
On another Note: While surfing the web to get the full story, I noticed that a lot of the media have been editing Patricia’s statements out of their report, probably due to the fact that God is even mentioned. Just another example of how desperately people are trying to get God out of everything.
