Testimony of Healing August 9, 2010 Issue

FORGIVENESS BRINGS HARMONY AND HEALING

LYNNE BUCKLEY-QUIRK with contributions from MEGHAN QUIRK

I was living and working in a large city away from my children and friends. My son had recently graduated from college, and my daughter was boarding at a high school for children of Christian Scientists. My husband and I were in the middle of a divorce, which was affecting each of us in different ways. A breach had taken place between my daughter and her father, and I'd been clinging to the hope that they would find a way to reconcile their differences.

All seemed to be going fairly well until one night my daughter called, crying hysterically. She and her father had been to dinner and had an argument that left her feeling unloved, even verbally attacked. I knew we had to think correctly about the situation, so I began talking about him the way I thought Jesus would. I affirmed the fact of her dad's true identity as God's spiritual man expressing His qualities and attributes such as goodness, kindness, justice, and love. She stopped crying, and when we hung up, I assumed all was well.

Two weeks later I was lying in my bed one night, feeling so ill that I didn't think I could even reach for the phone to call for help. I was feeling alone and afraid because my body had suddenly become stiff and it was almost impossible to breathe. Finally, I reached out to God in prayer. I remember asking what it was that I needed to know—what should I do? And the answer I heard was, "Forgive." I immediately knew what that was referring to, and my quick retort was, "No way!" I didn't see how I could possibly forgive my husband for the way he'd treated our child. I thought that forgiveness would only serve to condone his actions and enable him to repeat them.

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