UNCONDITIONAL FORGIVENESS

A KNOWN HISTORY    but with my words...

A man served a sentenced for 30 years in prison. He spent more than half of his life in prison ... Now he is put at liberty. Although born into a honest family he decided to choose the wrong path. He was the youngest son of a family of five brothers. Remember his brothers and how they played around a small oak tree planted in his garden. The society has laws, for this he was arrested, and sentenced and sent to a region far to meet the many long years of his sentence... Still remember, when was in prison, watching his youth run away through the bars, remember your home, oak tree, family, brothers, father and his mother who advised him to get the right way... but in his youth, was blind to see reality, deaf to hear the advice and dumb to say no to bad companies... He doesn’t even sure his mom still alive, surely she got wet eyes for many nights ...how disgusted he has gave to his mother ... Remember also his last words spoken to his mother: If I keep alive in prison during these 30 years and then have my freedom again put a white ribbon on the oak tree for I know you has forgiven me ... 

Foolishness of youth, 30 years is a long time. Now restored to freedom after paying his entire sentence, he has before him a long road but with an uncertain fate ... 30 years… changes lives... The young man was thrown in prison for 30 years and now a middle-aged man leaves prison... He Knows he is the only responsible for his fate. He knows the evil that has caused to the others, years in prison never will not repair the hurts he has done…. Does he deserves forgiveness? Difficult answer… This man was sent to a very far region, so remote that visits were impossible and letters never arrived... He is not sure if his family lived in the same place ... whether they are alive .. oh God, the only reference he had was the oak tree if it had not been cut off. Anyway if his family has forgotten him... they had great reasons because when he was young and had freedom in their hands, he had also and for a lot of times forgotten his family… No one cared back then ... but now, minutes, hours, days in prison changed his soul. For 30 long years his family were the iron bars and locks of the prison ... Remember now, as a child, the sweet moments he spent with family, Christmas, Thanksgiving, the table with plentiful food and family together ... His last 30 Christmass were in the company of solitude, misery, hunger ... And so goes his way .... 

Many days go by now... he began the journey on your foot step by step to reach the end ...

…As all the jorney have a end so…. already viewing the mountains from his village, decided to speeds up the steps, the stream ... the smell of the grass has not changed, now listening to the birds, children playing, it seems he almost can see himself as a kid running through fields with his brothers.

Get into the village.... ... your heart beat stronger ...the mouth is dry ... how about if they did not forgive him ?  Remember the last words spoken to his mother ... “the white ribbon”…

He does not know how many days has been travelling in his jorney to home…

Tears come to his eyes… keep walking through the village… houses are diferents now but he still knows the way home… After that corner ...   he thinks… stop for a moment… indecision.. fear…

The day was warm and sunny… the wind kindly face him…Now it seems his heart goes out of chest... what say? What to expect?  Step by step now... thousand thoughts at every step .... 

Can already see the first leaves of oak tree... it was not cut off... 

But suddenly a vision obfuscate his eyes, the vision as a lightning goes through his body directly into his heart ...

The old words spoken to his mother 30 years ago comes to his mouth and tears come to his eyes ... 

There was no one white ribbon in the Oak tree....

but several of them!!! 

The oak seemed to be made of white ribbons! 

And among those white ribbons an old woman, whose white hair mixed to the white, with slowly steps already tired by the years, but with a great love in her eyes and another white ribbon in her hands to put the oak tree said:

“… My beloved and dear son, I counted the hours, I counted the days, I counted the years of your sentence so I knew the day you left the prison. I also remembered what you asked me 30 years ago … You said If we forgive you we would put a white ribbon on oak tree so, we did it, I and your father and brothers, every day of your freedom and long road back Each one of us started to put a white ribbon in our oak tree.... 

At that time the fraternal embrace demonstrated that the exercise of forgiveness is the balm to heal the wounds of the soul ... 

by Carpe Diem jan 09 th 2011   10:01 pm