forgiveness

Backward Thinking

Posted on by jptanabe

In our precious family, the mom (me) was labeled “backward thinking” by the daughter of the family, and the dad (my true love) was labeled “ok thinking,” because of who he is, she said.
Backward thinking means I do not fully comprehend or acknowledge the hurt of others in the past or present she said.

I myself am from the older generation who happened to make amends and reparations for the unity and reconciliation and restored love between the European countries who were at war with each other. Dietrich, my husband, came from German Austrian parents, with ancestors from Hungary. I have French, Italians, and ancestors from the House of Savoy which was once a sovereignty in Savoy between Switzerland and Italy in the French Alps. Often, my husband talked about the Alps, as you find them in many countries. The mountains united us.

Because of the World Wars, reparations between the French, Germans and Austrians started right there the day of our holy wedding. That was day one of the 40 years of reparations, amends and true love, the time we were married together on this earth. Through loving me, my husband brought comfort and reparations to my ancestors.

I was representing all of them. through loving me unconditionally, he could reverse the pain, suffering, and abuse of the World Wars. Even some days I was not lovable, he loved me anyway. True love has no borders. By giving true love the wars were forgiven.

Myself too, I had to learn to forgive, even when it was Impossible. I did forgive. Our marriage blessing was for the sake of our nations.

So, I would say that the quickest way to offer reparations is to be more loving, more forgiving, more embracing, and as Jesus said, “Love your enemy.”

When we walked into this room to receive the holy wine ceremony at the Belvedere estate and three days later at the New Yorker Hotel to receive the holy water marriage blessing ceremony from the late Rev. Moon, who is well known for marrying former enemies to each other, we did not fully realize how much hard work it would be to love one’s enemy. It took 40 years.

My daughter, Diesa, who first said in one of our conversations that whatever I was saying was backward thinking, after hearing me talking about our love story she agreed that this was forward thinking, because of our determination and desperation to love each other despite our differences and our parents and grandparents and ancestors being former enemies.

I am eternally grateful to my late husband that we could do this to advance peace and love for all humankind.
Elisabeth Seidel

The Dissolution of all Conflicts and Resentments

Posted on by jptanabe

One of my husband’s colleagues at the end of his life, when he knew his days were numbered, decided to visit and reconcile with everyone he held a grudge against or had difficult feelings or resentment towards. Those people he did not want to speak to because anger and upset feelings would arise: Was he maltreated? Was he jealous? Did he failed to seek harmony and peace and love, to go the extra mile and go over the hurt coming from the others?
 
What he knew was that he was not going to take his house or savings or car with him, and he would be separated for some time from his spouse and family and friends.
 
He knew like a certainty deep down in his guts that he needed repentance, and most of all, to forgive and reconcile. This is why he went and visited many people. He did not want to break Heavenly laws. He wanted to be clear and free before God.
 
This action brought calm to his restless heart and a sense of wellbeing; no need to take heavy, ugly, spiritual baggage with him.
 
Myself, I fought my spiritual battles with numerous family members to achieve peace through service. I try to love my in-laws as much as my husband loves them or more. I kept reminding him to visit, to call, to free his schedule for them. One time I felt rejected by everyone, but Dietrich’s sister, Gisela, and I became best friends through working our way through differences to reconciliation. My own brother deeply hurt me. I repented and cried to God about this point.
 
Family conflict started at the beginning of history and multiplies to this day. The one who includes God, our Heavenly Parent, will have a better chance to resolve conflicts. We will have the power to forgive all: Koreans and Japanese, French and Germans, blacks and whites, and others.
 
God will give us direction, grace and power and forgiveness, as long as we are seeking Him. In God we trust.
 
May God bless you and your family.
Your friend Elisabeth

Faith and Love and Forgiveness

Posted on by jptanabe

If we have faith, believing the unbelievable, if we have love, loving the unlovable, and if we have the ability to forgive, Jesus said seventy times seven times, then our life will be worth living and meaningful.

Any act of love, of kindness, will make our credit in our bank of love go up. My husband always said, let’s make sure our love credit is high then in times of hardship and struggle we have already a high credit.

An act of love and kindness makes my heart melt. A couple of weeks ago as I was taking my daily walk around the neighborhood, a lady who lives on the next street stopped me. She had just parked her car and was unloading her bags. She asked if I was celebrating Christmas. I said, yes of course. Then she said she had a gift for me. I was surprised because I never met her before. She said it was from the heart – from her heart to mine – she wanted to buy me a special gift. It was a beautiful silvery heart for Christmas decoration. She said that when she sees me walking, she thinks of our story that she read in the local newspaper. Then she gave me a hug.

This is the beautiful heart my neighbor gave me as a gift.

Unexpected encounter that brings Christmas joy. Random acts of kindness that make the heart melt. Did not Jesus say to love our neighbors like ourselves?

And a gift to ourselves: to forgive, because when we cannot forgive, we have grudges. Grudges are no good for anybody, especially the people who hold them. They bubble up and then fester, fester, fester. So, we need to let go.

We do not let go of the truth, or the right, or the seven virtues, but the arrows which came in our direction and wounded us. Time and forgiveness are the greatest healers of all.

So, this Christmas season let’s all make gifts of love, believing the unbelievable things, loving the unlovable, and praying for the ability to forgive all the hurts we received that could not heal until today, because today we are making a wish: We have the ability to forgive.

Here is the link to the newspaper on their website, where the article is seen beginning on the front page.

Hudson River View December 2018

Mom! Be Nice to Dad

Posted on by jptanabe

“Mom, be nice to Dad!” My daughter responded, one day after I was using a sharp tongue towards my husband. It came to me as a surprising shock, as I was not even aware of my attitude. Sometimes too critical, or impatiently babbling something too fast or inappropriate. It stopped me in my tracks and I could reflect on my attitude.

I was not nice. To my husband.

I had a lot of reasons why. I could enumerate all of them. In order of importance.
But in the end, it does not matter the reasons why.
What does matter in the end is if we could love anyway.

Being always nice and pleasant speaking, and reconciling and agreeable. This is an art. An art of living together.
Responding in kind when we know the other one is wrong, or we think he is. Forgiving and going over the hurt of squabbling.
In the end it does not matter.
What matter is if we could love, anyway.

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately, reviewing different situations in my life where I was not nice, and changing them in my mind to the right response.

It is said that when you go to the spirit world, you first review your life. You experience how the other person felt when you were not nice, by your actions and behavior, and also when you were nice, what pleasant emotions you have given to others. This will determine the region where you will be residing in your eternal home.

Other situations were not closed well the way I would have wanted, which means with ultimate true love. So, in my mind I process them, asking for forgiveness, and also asking my husband from the other side of the veil to work at it. We can continue our relationship between the two worlds to make it in the end the perfect love we always wanted. Let’s be nice to each other.

Elisabeth Seidel