SENTINEL WATCH September 27, 2004 Issue

The inward voice of forgiveness

By Channing Walker

Their stories are out there, ready to leave most of us in speechless awe when we come across them. Ready to stir admiration in us until we feel impelled, almost shamed, to take steps along the road from wrath to reconciliation.

Take Aba Gayle, an energetic grandmother of five who lives in Oregon. When her daughter was murdered over two decades ago, a furnace of anger ignited within her that raged on for eight years. During that time, by her own description, she "lusted for revenge."

Somehow, somehow, Gayle broke from that deadening cycle and began a spiritual journey. Then came a crucial intersection. An inward voice urged her to forgive her daughter's murderer, by then on death row, and ordered her to let him know of her forgiveness. She obeyed, both writing and visiting him. The friendship born of that extraordinary turnabout continues today.

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