Forgiveness is a really powerful tool to freedom but it is not always so easy.
Reverend Terry Kind says at Saving Grace Ministries they serve men and women who come from incarnation. He also serves on a board of law enforcement which is a ministry that reaches into the lives of those officers who are struggling and also to provide hope for them in a ministry calling that say that they are valued and they are important, especially those that are injured in the line of duty or those officers who are really struggling with depression and despair.
He and Pastor Jerry from a church in the region and they talk regularly. In June, they were sharing the tension that existed in their lives. Rev. Terry says Pastor Jerry called him one Monday morning after having a real unction in the spirit during a church service that he saw he saw the men and women of Grace House, the parolees that they work with coming into a room with police officers. Rev. Terry said his first response was well that is not going to happen. He said to his knowledge it has never happened before and he has been working in that environment for 22 years. It was something he hasn’t experienced before.
They had permission and officer Steve Richie, an officer from Lockport attended that night. His story of forgiveness after having been shot as an officer in the line of duty.
What does forgiveness mean to the forgiven? Officer Richie says, it is the human side of our heart and we want people to know we are really sorry for what we did and we need to hear people say it’s okay I forgive you. Officer Richie says it’s all part of human nature; we desire for that forgiveness so we can move on and we can know that okay we have been forgiven and I feel at peace for that incident whatever may have happened, okay we can move on from that and they don’t have to think about that all the time and that’s what he was looking for.
Officer Richie, says for him as a Christian, he felt like the Holy Spirit was flowing through that room touching everybody. He says that first meeting was absolutely amazing, how people opened up and talked. There is a greater thing going on here than just people at a bible study just talking to each other. There was a euphoric feeling there that he thinks everyone felt. The same thing with the meeting last night.
