Act of forgiveness

Mr. and Mrs. Amin (not their real names) have always lived in perfect harmony and they have always been made an example of the most-perfect couple in the community. When the husband died there was no sadder woman on earth than Mrs. Amin.

When she went to the funeral with her teenage daughter, it struck her that there was another, younger woman accompanied by a child, whose grief over her husband was not less than Mrs. Amin's.

When Mrs. Amin sympathetically accosted her, asking whether she was a distant relative of the deceased man, she was shocked to hear that her dead husband was also the young woman's husband and the child was the fruit of his affection.

Gone was Mrs. Amin's grief, making way for an indescribable hatred as she had always thought that her husband was the perfect spouse. She could not forgive what her husband had done to her. She sulked and sulked to the point of undermining her health.

One day, she accidentally joined a marriage counseling meeting, where a pastor advised her to forgive her deceased husband, otherwise she would not have peace of mind.

Only time could heal her emotional wound and after a certain amount of time did elapse she realized that it was futile to hate somebody no longer among the living.

Her heart was filled with forgiveness, and she is now willing to take care of the young mother and child because they are financially in dire circumstances.

A. DJUANA

Jakarta