FORGIVENESS

Two years ago in the Lenten Devotional, I wrote about the 1992 auto accident in which my mom died and my husband, son and daughter and I experienced multiple broken bones and trauma. We had to “Let Go, Let God.” By doing that and with the outpouring of care and prayers of many relatives, friends and church members, we recovered and returned to our daily activities.

Almost two years after the accident, we were served with a lawsuit by the man whose vehicle collided with us. This was just before we were to transfer overseas with my husband’s job. We were angry and upset. The accident was caused by a deer on a snowy major highway. It was an accident. No one’s fault.

But now there were sides. He became an enemy. He experienced minor loss – a banged-up truck, a sprained wrist and a loss of equipment from the back of his truck. Our insurance company was terrific. Much time, energy and correspondence occurred. We would not settle out-of-court as that would imply guilt. That would have been much easier logistically, but not mentally and spiritually.

So we flew from England to Dulles Airport to West Virginia (where the accident occurred), met with the lawyer and went to court. It was a jury trial. It was difficult, to say the least. I really did trust in the Lord and knew that, whatever the verdict, God was with us and was the ultimate judge. The bottom line: the jury ruled for us. It was an accident. The case was closed.

My enemy “stumbled and fell.” I have thought and prayed about this a lot. Time has helped me forgive this enemy, but not forget. Two quotes that have helped me through this are: “Let Go, Let God” (first heard from a fellow church member Robbie Jaxheimer), and “You’ve made it through this, you can make it through anything” (my son’s counselor).

So when you are faced with adversity, remember these and Psalms 27 and 37.

— Shirley Thomas

Courtesy of The Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist