Forgiveness

In the book Unbroken by Laura Hildabrandt the story of Louis Zamperini is told. He was going to go to the Olympics and possibly set a record in the mile, but World War II intervened. His plane was shot down over the Pacific and he survived for a record amount of time in a raft. He was picked up by the Japanese military and put into a prison camp. He and the other prisoners’ were abused. One guard in particular was unusually cruel; his nickname was Bird. Eventually the war ends and he returns to the USA. He marries a wonderful woman , but he suffers from what we now call PTSD. He ended up without goals and drinking heavily. His wife offers to take him to a Billy Graham Revival. There he finds help for his addiction and PTSD.

This reminds me of a story:

A senior monk and a junior monk were traveling together. At one point, they came to a river with a strong current. As the monks were preparing to cross the river, they saw a very young and beautiful woman also attempting to cross. The young woman asked if they could help her cross to the other side.

The two monks glanced at one another because they had taken vows not to touch a woman.

Then, without a word, the older monk picked up the woman, carried her across the river, placed her gently on the other side, and carried on his journey.

The younger monk couldn’t believe what had just happened. After rejoining his companion, he was speechless, and an hour passed without a word between them.

Two more hours passed, then three, finally the younger monk could contain himself any longer, and blurted out “As monks, we are not permitted a woman, how could you then carry that woman on your shoulders?”

The older monk looked at him and replied, “Brother, I set her down on the other side of the river, why are you still carrying her?”

Anyway the book is an excellent read. The movie is okay but it misses out on important points. Read the book.

It takes a lot to forgive. sometimes we are just not ready to put that burden down. Someday we will. Remember forgiveness is for us not for those who we feel wronged us.