Unforgiveable?
Last weeks' 25th anniversary of 9/11 was an emotionally difficult time for me. I still don't like to see images from the day; hearing the voicemail messages of those lost not only brings me to tears, they tear another hole in my soul. I could not even write this post last weekend because it was just too difficult.
The experience makes me wonder if some acts are simply unforgiveable. There have been so many soul-crushing occurrences in the world in my lifetime and they often feel utterly unforgiveable. As a person of faith, I am called to reject those feelings. Forgiveness is a central tenant of my faith. We are called to practice forgiveness. I do believe it is a practice, not a natural state being. To truly forgive, a person must release some part of themselves; a person must willingly let go of a harm or threat to their being. We understand that when confronted with harm the natural reaction is flight, fight or freeze, but forgiveness forces us to choose a different response altogether.
I fear that the world no longer believes in forgiveness; it certainly struggles to practice it.
In spite of this, individuals still practice forgiveness in ways that amaze me. As a person struggles to forgive the idiot who cuts me off in traffic, I stand in awe of the grieving parent or spouse who offers forgiveness to the person that harmed them so deeply. What incredible reserves of strength they must possess. I admire them without understanding how they are able to live with such Grace.
My books all deal with issues of love, forgiveness and redemption. The forces are so tightly wound together, almost like a rope, that I do not believe any of them can exist in isolation. If you love someone, you must be able to forgive; you cannot forgive without love in your heart; love and forgiveness create redemption.
I wrote a novel, Forgiveness, because of 9/11. Set in a fictional civil war in the Balkans in 1949, it is the story of Walter Krang, a concentration camp guard who is forgiven by one of the camp prisoners as the camp is liberated. I take the reader on my journey to try to understand what it means to forgive and what acts are beyond forgiveness.
We cannot abide cruelty, but can we forgive those who have been cruel? I really don't know, but I believe we have to try. This is a great time to give blood! Your summer activities are done, but you're not so deeply enmeshed in fall that life feels overwhelming (except for the 90% of us who live overwhelmed.)
To read past issues of this blog or learn about my novels, visit www.jeffersonblackburnsmith.com
Win a free Kindle edition of Love: a novel of grief and desire: I work with Reader's Favorite on the Kindle book giveaway. Go to https://readersfavorite.com/book-giveaway/love/1 to sign up for the monthly giveaway. You can scroll through the list of giveaways (over 500 each month) or sort the list by title or author to find Love: a novel of grief and desire and put your name in for this month's drawing. Good luck!
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