I was wondering...

About Forgiveness

Is it possible to forgive another who wrongs us?

Recently I was reading about a man who forgave the person who murdered his grandmother.

Eighteen years ago his grandmother was murdered by a teenage girl called Cooper. This was in the USA. At the trial the man wanted revenge for his grandmother’s death & hoped that Cooper would be executed. He was disappointed when the sentence was life imprisonment. But later he changed his attitude. He remembered that his grandmother was a Christian and he felt that she would have had compassion for Cooper. Moreover he felt that his grandmother would want someone in the family to feel the same compassion. So he made the decision to forgive Cooper.

I was very interested in his feelings after he made this decision to forgive. He said the decision brought tremendous healing. He said that if a person hangs on to anger and the desire for revenge eventually it becomes like a cancer and it will destroy you. Recently the grandson visited in prison the woman who killed his grandmother. He walked right up to her, gave her a big hug, looked her in the eyes and said that he had forgiven her. Soon Cooper will be released from prison & he will help her adjust to her new situation.

Is forgiveness possible? What I learn from this story is that the decision is ours.

What do you think?