Mitch was far from convinced, and a part of him wanted simply to get up and leave. He could feel a sense of indignation at being asked to believe something that every fiber of his being screamed was wrong. It could only have been through some form of divine intervention that his thoughts failed to reach his lips before Carolyn spoke up with a more thoughtful reply.

“Joanna, truthfully, we’re not ready to accept this. I know you are just asking that we keep an open mind, and we’ll do that. I can’t deny that something wonderful has happened over the last few days. My heart has been lifted. While I still miss Rachel terribly, and will always grieve for her, I now know that she is still with me and for that I will always be grateful. But, if I’m not mistaken, you said before that Rachel had forgiven Danny.”

“That’s right. She has, and so has Evan.”

Joanna looked down at her hands and then back up at each of them in turn. “I understand how you feel. But I want you to consider something. And perhaps it will help you to understand the power of forgiveness. You can remain angry at Danny, you can hate him, you can hope he will rot in hell and be punished for the rest of eternity. That’s your choice. But then you will stay trapped in your anger and be imprisoned by your own emotions because of a desire to see another person suffer. Ask yourself: do you want to be guided by hate, or by love?”

Mitch finally started to calm down and listen. Something Joanna had said reminded him of his experience yesterday. He knew that on a certain level, Joanna was right, but he was not yet ready to relinquish his anger at Danny.

He picked up the rose and handed it to Carolyn as they stood to leave. “Joanna, we’re so grateful for how much you’ve helped us. I hope we don’t seem like a couple of ingrates, but it’s almost too much to take in so quickly. We need to go home and do as you suggest. We need to pray, and ask for guidance.”

He looked over at Carolyn for confirmation. “And we promise to keep an open mind.”

Joanna stood and said, “I know that, Mitch. And that’s all I ask.”

Joanna walked with them to the edge of the garden, and opened the door to the rear of the church. They chatted for a few more minutes and then said their good-byes, promising to stay in touch. Joanna declined Mitch’s offer of a contribution to the church in exchange for a promise they and their boys would become regular volunteers at the soup kitchen.