Upfront September 26, 2011 Issue

Mending hearts

Jenny Nelles, Staff Editor

Tales of bitterness and revenge are a dime a dozen. But a story of forgiveness can be much more compelling, sweeping in and refreshing us like a cool breeze. 

So we invite you to look in the pages of this week’s Sentinel to read how our writers practiced this quality of God. Paul Grimes’s lead piece wastes no time in pinpointing self-justification as one obstacle that might deter us from readily forgiving. And what about forgiving the big stuff, like abuse? Grimes writes: “Our prayers might go something like this: . . . No one can take from you your divine right of health, wholeness, freedom, and joy.  . . . Any attempt to get back at someone, to take revenge, only enables the abuser to think they still have power” (p. 6). On page eight, an account of a wife’s healing journey after marital abuse attests to this divine right to freedom Grimes speaks of. Forgiveness can be “a loving path to take for myself, as well as for another” and “not a possession to give and receive” as Aimee Hermanson finds out when she struggles to forgive someone who appears to express no remorse (p. 10).

Of course healing, the underlying focus of each Sentinel, can be found throughout the magazine. Our “Items of Interest” features an excerpt on how the people of Norway are striving to see the power of love actively mending hearts in the aftermath of tragedy. And don’t children often inspire us all to live with purer hearts? Read Sara’s sweet article on page 18 and turn to the teen pages to read about a healing of knee pain (p. 16), and how a challenge on a school trip was overcome (p. 17).

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NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Items of Interest

‘This makes us see glimpses of God’