Forgiveness—a simple concept that is complex and difficult to live
out—is basic to most all spiritual paths. Ford (Memoir of a Misfit)
helps iron out the complexities by sharing personal and historical
stories of real people who forgive, giving scriptural encouragement
for forgiveness and providing questions and practice exercises at the
end of each chapter. What's more, she does all this with an inviting,
witty tone reminiscent of a chat with a friend over coffee. Her stated
purpose is to provide a book on forgiveness that stresses the
spiritual connection we foster with God when we forgive. In doing so,
she puts the Divine in the forefront. We forgive because God shows us
how: "God wrote the book on the sacred act of forgiveness." Although
our call is always to forgive, Ford recognizes the thorniness of
forgiving someone who is persistently abusive. "Anyone who tries to
make you believe that forgiveness always requires reunion is someone
who neither understands forgiveness nor has your best interests at
heart," she explains. This primer belongs in the hands of anyone who
needs to give or receive forgiveness.
Almost all of us have a person in our lives that we’ve refused to
forgive. Here, FaithfulReader.com reviewer Marcia Ford, the author of
numerous books (including MEMOIR OF A MISFIT, GOD BETWEEN THE COVERS
and TRADITIONS OF THE ANCIENTS), offers practical help for
facilitating forgiveness and reconciliation. She also makes a
convincing case that forgiveness is essential for our own happiness
and peace of mind.
Why do we need another book on forgiveness? Because forgiveness is
in such short supply, Ford writes, and we must keep preaching the
message, hearing the message, and living the message. In the
introduction, Ford says she has become convinced that learning to
forgive is one of life’s great lessons. Mixing personal experiences
and practical know-how, she takes the reader, step by step, through a
basic understanding of what forgiveness entails, why it is important,
and what will happen after forgiveness takes place. God, she notes,
forgives us relentlessly. And, of course, there’s the catch --- God
expects us to forgive relentlessly also. Often this won’t happen under
our own power --- we’ll need supernatural power to do it.
Why should we forgive? Ford begins with this question. “It’s about
you letting go of your past, changing your present, and protecting
your future. It’s about making a better life for yourself, and in some
small way, making a better world as well.” Forgiveness makes us
healthier people and gives us a better quality of life, she writes,
adding that prolonged unforgiveness is associated with high blood
pressure, cardiovascular disease, anxiety, depression, lowered
immunity and stress-related disorders.
Not only do we need to forgive those who have personally wronged
us, we also need to forgive more abstract groups of people --- those
who fight for causes we are against (think the
abortion/homosexuality/war debates among Christians) or who espouse
ideas different from our own. We have to put away our desire to be
better than others and to be right. Of course, what Ford is driving at
is that we have to deal with our pride. I was afraid of that!
Ford tackles the sticky problem of forgiving someone who has died
(it’s important to take care of unfinished business) and some ideas
about when you should remember the offense even as you forgive the
offender. Forgive and forget isn’t always the best motto, especially
if abuse is involved. While forgiveness can be offered, remembrance
helps us set healthy boundaries. Ford reminds us that we also need to
remember acts of horror –- the Holocaust, Rwanda --- to prevent
atrocities from happening again. In other words, sometimes we have to
remember the offense, even as we forgive the offenders.
Ford also makes the distinction between forgiveness and
reconciliation. They are not the same, she points out. “Sometimes
reconciliation is simply unwise; other times, it’s downright
dangerous.” Or, as she quotes the late Lewis Smedes, “Reunion can
happen only if we can trust the person who wronged us once not to
wrong us again.” You don’t have to reconcile with the person you
forgive, especially if abuse is involved, she emphasizes. “Attempts at
reconciliation are both risky and challenging,” she says in a later
passage. Proceed with caution.
In other chapters, Ford notes that the forgiveness of God toward us
is transformational. Forgiving others helps us move toward maturity.
It puts us back on the path to spiritual growth. But perhaps the most
difficult forgiveness is this: We have to learn to forgive ourselves.
“Forgiving ourselves becomes a work of self-restoration; we’re putting
ourselves back together again, making ourselves the whole person we
are meant to be.”
Ford seasons her book with plenty of humor and vulnerable
anecdotes, stories of forgiveness from the news and from the Bible,
and questions at the end of each chapter to help us reflect on and
practice forgiveness. There are quotes from a variety of faith
traditions, from Buddha to Francis Schaeffer to the Dalai Lama;
Russian monks to rabbis. Most chapters are short, making them perfect
for devotional reading.
If you’ve ever said something like, “I could never forgive him!”
Ford writes, then you’re probably right. Not by ourselves. But she
promises us that with God’s grace, we can be empowered to forgive and
to be set free from bitterness.
--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby. Contact Cindy at phrelanzer@aol.com.
© Copyright 2006, FaithfulReader.com. All rights reserved.
