Forgiveness
by
Phil Madsen, Expediter
(Written October 8, 2006, for publication on SuccessfulExpediters.com)
Note: On October 2, 2006, at a one-room Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, PA, Charles Carl Roberts, 32, a milk-tanker driver from Bart Township, PA, barricaded himself inside, tied up ten girls, shot them, and then shot and killed himself as police broke into the building. Five of the girls died, five were critically wounded. The Amish families and community forgave Mr. Roberts and were supportive of his family.
Last night (October 8th, 2006), Diane and I drove our truck sixteen hours through the desert, from Carson City, Nevada to Phoenix, Arizona . The skies were clear and the moon was full. Most of the way, the road was two lanes with wide shoulders. The lanes were well-painted and paved. The wind was calm. The towns were hours apart. With Diane asleep in back and almost no traffic on the road, this time and space was mine to enjoy.
Beyond my high beams, the moon bathed the land in more-soothing light. The desert spread wide to meet the stars. As the engine hummed and tires sang, the night sky came down and touched the earth; leaving me in between to ponder the nature of things.
The trivia of the day faded into the night. My mind grew quite. Words bubbled up from somewhere within.
Elsewhere on earth, there is news of a man,
now dead with Amish blood on his hands.
There is also news of the Amish clan.
They forgave the man as God commands.The ribbon of road flows peacefully by,
a killer of girls and questions why.
More troubling still between me and the sky,
could I forgive such a guy?
Forgiveness occupied my mind most of the night. I thought of people and events in my life where I have forgiven or been forgiven, and where I have not.
Forgiveness.
It is a word, a concept and a deed.
What do we gain if we forgive someone?
What do we lose if we don't?
What do we lose if we forgive someone?
What do we gain if we don't?
But then, if we are thinking about forgiveness in terms of gain or loss, are we thinking about forgiveness at all?