Imagine that you are in a car accident today with your entire family and that accident claims the lives of your children.
NO ONE wants to imagine that, but sadly that is the reality for Hadley and Gentry Eddings.
Memorial Day weekend they were hit by a car that claimed the life of their 2 year old son and their unborn son as well. The Eddings are my cousin’s close friends and he said that this has been an insanely hard time for them. They are walking through grief that I cannot even begin to imagine right now. Their story is receiving national attention because at their son’s funeral they announced that they have forgiven the driver who killed their sons.
My first reaction was shock. How could they do that at all much less so soon?
I read the entire story on Yahoo and I could not help but be amazed at their strength and their decision. If it were me, I would hope that some day,way down the road, I would be able to forgive my child’s killer, but immediately? My brain screamed at me that this does not make any sense. However, the more I think about it, forgiveness never makes sense. Our natural response is to want justice and revenge but God talks about something very different in Ephesians 4:32,
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
This verse sounds easy enough when we are forgiving others for their unkind words or hurtful actions, but when it comes to forgiving someone who took your children from you it becomes a whole different ball game. Not only did the Eddings forgive the driver who hit their car, but they asked their church body to do the same.
“Forgive anyone in your life who you hold anything against.”
Their ability to CHOOSE forgiveness has challenged me. I have trouble forgiving people who have simply hurt me in the past. Even when I think I have finally moved past it and forgiven, those feelings often resurface and I have to face them all over again. When I think about God’s constant forgiveness for me, I have no right to withhold forgiveness from anyone. Forgiving someone does not mean that it makes what they did ok even though it may feel that way. I’m human so I will always struggle with forgiving others, but I am so thankful for the Godly example of the Eddings family as they are clearly leaning on God through this tragedy and choosing forgiveness.
– Joy