This story is tough to write about. It is personal. My mother and my aunt are at the core of this. However, at this time of the year, a story of forgiveness and reconciliation is of most importance.

My mother and my favorite aunt (like a mother to me) had a misunderstanding that kept them apart for ten years. I would visit one, then the other, trying in vain to get them to stop the foolishness. In 1993 my mother’s husband died of a heart attack. I needed to act as time was running out for this generation.

When I visited my mother, I would take her for a drive in the country for a few hours. This gave us time to visit, time away from her home and memories, time for a mother and son to talk. Well, this day was different. I took the back roads and went west, then south, then east, until my mother had no idea where we were.

About an hour or so later I pulled into my aunt and uncle’s driveway and told my mom, “This stubbornness is over, we are going to stop it today here and now.”

I took her by the arm and entered my aunt’s home (always unlocked) and walked up to my aunt and said, “May I present your sister?”

The reaction was predictable, they hugged, cried, apologized and things were like before. My uncle and I joined in the group hug. I thought, “All is well with my soul.”

I lectured them before leaving saying, “What went through my mind was the possibility one of you would die before resolving this and the other standing at the grave thinking, why oh why didn’t I reconcile?”

The lesson here is for all of us. Forgive and reconcile. I have forgiven everyone who has offended me in this life and reconciled with the parties involved. So I ask during this time of the year, Easter, to think of the big picture and let go and let God.

B. J. Cassady BJ.Cassady@af-group.com
Guthrie, Oklahoma