AS we celebrate Easter – a time of renewal and redemption – we are reminded of the powerful acts of forgiveness and reconciliation at the heart of the Christian faith. On our beautiful island of Saipan, three individuals have experienced journeys of forgiveness that can inspire us all.
Reconciling after infidelity
Maria discovered that forgiving her husband’s affair was the solution to saving their marriage; she also points out that nothing could be more hurtful than cheating on one’s spouse. Juan was involved in an extra-marital affair with a colleague for twelve months, which shattered their relationship when it became public.
Maria confesses to feeling both anger and pain initially. Nevertheless, she went to seek advice and tried to get to the root of Juan’s misdoings. Eventually, Maria managed to pardon him. She further explains that forgiving Juan doesn’t mean he has been justified but instead enabled her to drop resentments making her unhappy. This set the stage for honest conversations between Maria and Juan and helped them rebuild trust to renew their commitments.
Their relationship is now stronger than ever before. “We are still at reconciliation not yet there,” claims Juan who adds, “But God led us into a deep love we never knew.”
Forgiving imperfect parents
Due to addiction issues, Nathan’s mother could not be there for him, and thus he grew up under his father’s care, then a single parent. He blamed his mother for abandoning him and held some resentment towards his dad who failed as a responsible parent; “It was very tough in my childhood because I kept anger over parents’ imperfections throughout many years” Nathan recalls.
It’s only when he became a father that Nathan came to fully understand how much love and sacrifice was shown by his parents. Suddenly, he had an enlightening moment that made him realize that they did their best with what they had at the time. He forgave them from an understanding perspective. That is why today, he admits that although they were far from being perfect but out of love for him, many sacrifices were made.
Gradually forgiving both parents before they passed away was the key to healing relationships. “At the end of it all I have peace no regrets”, he declares. “Peace has come through forgiveness”.
Overcoming a workplace conflict
Rita became angry at a colleague after a heated quarrel. “She spread rumors and lies about me that hurt my standing at work,” Rita remembers. “For some time, I avoided her altogether because I was so angry and hurt.”
Rita soon realized that her resentment was only causing more pain to herself. She decided to talk to her workmate about the matter and get to know why she saw things differently. This made them air their feelings and sort out their differences.
“After having been seriously wounded though, it took enormous humility and courage for me to take this step” Rita says. “However, that was enough for me; it felt like the weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Although forgiveness doesn’t make what happened right, it helped me heal from that wound, reconcile with her, and change our relationship back into a positive one where we could move forward together.”
These three little stories illustrate how reconciliation can heal broken relationships and bring nations together – Easter’s most powerful signposts. We pray that during this Easter season, we may find encouragement to forgive others and ourselves and make room in our hearts for coming together again.
