love

Healing Hands

Posted on by jptanabe

I remember the first time Dietrich held my hand. Just minutes after seeing me, he took both my hands into his, and said he liked me.

The second time he took my hand was a few days after our Holy Marriage Blessing, when I visited him in Barrytown. We went for a walk somewhere beautiful together with his friend, Dr. Masuda, and his new wife. Both couples were holding hands. I recall the nature being more beautiful than usual. The deer were greeting us. To walk hand in hand with my new husband was a heavenly experience; so much electricity and love was passing through our touch. Throughout our life we always held hands.

I also remember when I was in the midst of trouble, hardship, sorrow, confusion, in the midst of tears, just to know his hand was near, and I could reach out to him, gave me courage to go on. Without his hand nearby I could not persevere.

I remember sometimes feeling exhausted at night, refusing to stand another 5 minutes, or refusing to get up in the early morning. But hearing his voice praying to heaven, I felt so comforted and secure. It was music to my ears. Then I would ask him to massage me back to life. His touch transformed my depleted energy into new hope and new life. Hands have healing energy.

When my mother was spending her last days on earth at the retirement home in our hometown, my family took turns to be with her so that she was never alone. She was very scared of dying, because during her life she did not take the opportunity to love God, did not want to, or could not do it because she had endured so much pain and difficult circumstances. But somehow, she loved her son-in-law like her own son. So, Dietrich was assigned to be with her at night.

She wanted to hold hands during the day with my brother or me, her daughter. She held our hands very tenaciously. Even when she could not talk or drink anymore, holding on to our hands was the last sign of life. At night my husband would hold her hands with gratitude and deep love for his mother-in-law. He would sing lullabies to her.

When I remember the scene of my mom dying and Dietrich holding her hands singing lullabies from his sleeping bag on the floor next to her, tears roll down my cheeks. It was really comforting and beautiful. God must have been comforted by this scene as well.

Before Dietrich passed, he was in the ICU intubated because he could not breathe anymore. The doctors had to trap his hands in what looked like handcuffs so that he would not take the tube out of his mouth. The moment I came to visit I would liberate him and hold his depleted hands. And when it was his time to go, the night before our daughter Diesa, holding his hand, asked him to wait a little longer until we all came again to say good bye.

The hands of blessed couples receive the divine power of Heavenly Parent. Now that Dietrich is not here, how I long to hold his hand again.

Bird Stories

Posted on by jptanabe

A long time ago, when I was living in Italy, one day I started dancing in the streets of Milano. I was feeling so happy I was literally running to the Unification Church center because I thought I had finally found what I was looking for.
 
One night, coming back home and feeling emotionally distressed and disturbed by what I was learning, and losing at that time my so called “boyfriend,” I threw my bag and coat on the sofa and headed to the kitchen. There were two birds in a cage there with the purpose of singing for me or on display for me to look at their beautiful colors. I sat by the kitchen table and started crying. That’s what I do if I do not know how to find my way.
 
Warm tears started falling from my eyes. I noticed when I started crying the birds started singing. I paused, and they paused too. Then I started crying again, then sobbing. The more I was sobbing the more the birds sang with joy and more loudly. How could this be?  I thought, I am in turmoil and those birds seems happy about my circumstances.
 
It was God’s plan back then, through the beautiful creation that God made, He gave me insight that all those dramas will pass, and that He had me on the road He wanted me to be on. The road where I would find my direction, and the true purpose of my life, my life mission and above all the man of my life, my true love for eternity. Love cannot be felt alone. We arrive at the kingdom in pairs.

Blossom-headed parakeets

Lately I have been working together with Dr. Tanabe a colleague of my husband, Dietrich. She also has birds in her kitchen. When talking meaningful things, or sharing some passages to include in a book, or a new idea, her birds would accompany our discussions with joyful singing. And when they sang louder than our voices, we were on the right track. We felt God’s touch every time this happened.

Rev. Moon, affectionately called True Father, shared this bird story in a message entitled “Where And How Do You Want To Live Your Life?” which he gave at Belvedere on June 9, 1996:

“When Father was growing up he felt he had to conquer every aspect of creation. Once Father caught a mother bird and three baby birds together and kept them in his house. At that point Father didn’t realize that there was a father bird. All of a sudden the father bird appeared and began to cry in a sad voice. When this father bird looked at Father, he cried even more sadly because True Father was the destroyer of this bird’s family. Then Father released the birds, one by one. The sad tone of the father bird’s song lessened. Finally, when all three baby birds were released this father bird seemed content. But when the mother bird was released then the whole family of birds greeted Father and then flew away. How did Father know that they came and greeted him? Because they circled Father’s house and then flew away.“

We can learn so much about life and love from birds. Birds are truly comforting to people’s heart.

Your friend, Elisabeth Seidel

Married at First Sight

Posted on by jptanabe

Last night I felt drawn to the reality tv series called “Married at First Sight.”

Since there are so many singles feeling lonely and looking for love and marriage, a team of psychologists, sexologists, sociologists and marriage counselors matched six couples from a large pool of volunteers. These six couples, matched by this team of experts, were supposed to marry the moment they met each other.

It looked a bit like my own matching and wedding.

In fact, those six couples, in my opinion, looked like excellent matches for each other. Even though this team of professionals claimed that nobody did this before, I have to say the Rev. Moon did exactly that during his life time.

With insight and intuition, by looking spiritually into our lineage of ancestors, and through our body characteristics, he would determine the best matches. But we still had our portion of responsibility to make our marriage work.

In his book, “Reflections on Unification Theology: Revealing the World of Heart,” my husband, Dietrich, wrote:

“God’s vertical love is perfected through the horizontal love of human beings, in the highest form through the husband-and-wife relationship. That model is then extended to how families relate to each other, and how nations relate to each other. The whole Kingdom of God is characterized by these loving relationships.”

When we resemble God, that is our original value, our divine value. And, as Dietrich stated, we resemble God through the love relationship of a couple in a God-centered marriage. We can only enter the Kingdom of Heaven with our spouse. This is our salvation.

Today we need to recover the family, which has been under attack since the beginning of time. If we do not have a family, we do not have much at all.

That is why singles feel lonely and want to find love, and why popular television shows like “Married at First Sight” attract many viewers.

I pray you find your true love.

Your friend, Elisabeth Seidel

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

Love is the Most Powerful Force of All

Posted on by jptanabe

There is no greater force against evil in the world than the love of a man and a woman in marriage.

Cardinal Raymond Burke

As I was browsing Facebook, I stopped at this sentence from Cardinal Burke. I savored it for a long time. It was illustrated with a most stunning painting of a man and a woman dancing tenderly together as their kids, 5 and 7 years old it seemed, sat and watched. What a beautiful sight! Love is the most powerful force of all.

On Tuesday August 13, 1963, I wrote in my journal: “It is wonderful to think that soon I will be 18, all of a life to fill, so many things to get to know, and not knowing yet who will be the man of my life.”

Fast forward to February 1977. Just a few days before our wedding day, February 21, I was in the library at Belvedere estate together with many single men and women, who had come there to hear a speech from Rev. Sun Myung Moon.

I had heard rumors that Father Moon, as we call him, was preparing to conduct a Holy Marriage Blessing soon. Instead of a speech, Father Moon asked if we wanted him to start matching us right away! I was taken by surprise, a little in shock, and suddenly overcome by anticipation.

Father Moon started on the spot. He would ask a participant to stand up, ask a few questions and then point at a woman in the crowd. The two would then proceed to another room to talk and decide if they would accept the match. They would then return to the library and bow to Father and Mother Moon if they accepted. That afternoon 12 couples were matched. The next day the matching would continue.

When we were matched, Dietrich and I talked shortly. He said, “I like you.” I said, “I like you too.” As he was holding my hands, I was looking into his romantic green eyes and transported into the heavenly realm where God was telling me “I will love you through him.”

A few days later, on the 21st of February 1977, the Holy Marriage Blessing ceremony was held with 74 couples.

So, I totally agree with Cardinal Burke: There is no greater force against evil in the world than the love of a man and woman in marriage. 

Elisabeth Seidel

The Love that Makes us Heal

Posted on by jptanabe

On one occasion my husband Dietrich had to be hospitalized, because of different health issues. My daughter Diesa, to whom her dad is her hero, decided to fast seven days for his complete recovery. This is a long time to go without food, only water. One has to prepare mentally for that. It is a big enterprise for the body to adjust, and the mind to decide why we are fasting, and what will be the desired result.
 
On the last day of the fast, to show their support, Jessa and Nurie, two of Diesa’s friends, joined her in her offering. That very day Dietrich totally recovered.

Nurie, Jessa, and Diesa – friends forever
Diesa with her dad

I will always remember the support given to us in time of need and difficulty. Friendship is beautiful, as is the special love between father and daughter.
 
On another occasion, as Diesa was preparing to go to Haiti for a special program for young women, she flew to Vienna, Austria, with her brother Christopher to spend Christmas time with us. Two days before Christmas, their father had a stroke, turning our life around. Diesa stayed an extra two weeks with us before flying directly to Haiti. Again, she fasted three days for her beloved dad.
 
Dietrich recovered, but it was painful, long, arduous recovery. But he did recover.
 
I believe fasts, prayers, good deeds, restitutions, help the healing of body and soul, bringing credits to our spiritual accounts.
 
We might be sick because of physical causes, but also through inheritance from past generations.
 
I realized my mom’s suffering from anxiety was passed on to me. She had a tough life. Her first child was stillborn. It was during World War Two and the midwife was drunk, she told me. So, as she was carrying me, she must have been full of anxiety.
 
I remember my medical doctor Dr Teubl telling me we might inherit problems from past generations, but we can heal everything during one generation.
 
I believe also that love heals everything. My husband was for me a healer of my soul. He was also a healer to my dad. He was also a healer for many people during his lifetime.
 
The fasts, prayers, and love people bestowed on Dietrich added years to his life and made him feel better, treasured, and healed.
 
Let’s heal each other of our burdens so that the world becomes a world we truly love, and let’s love each other with the love which come from our Heavenly Parent.

Elisabeth Seidel

The Families who are Healing the Divide

Posted on by jptanabe

My cousin Michele from Paris married a black American man after World War 2. Her beloved at that time was stationed in France as part of the American forces.

The photo below shows Michele at age 19 when she met her future husband, Belton, in Paris in 1955.

I remember her dad, Pierre my favorite uncle, was a bit shocked that his only and unique daughter was leaving her country and her family to go and have a new life in America with someone from another race.
 
True love is colorblind. I believe my cousin and all my friends who are from interracial marriages are healing the wounds created by centuries of pain, slavery, misfortune, injustice and the like. If love abides with these couples, truly their children are stunning. They are special in God’s sight. They are most beautiful, because it was the love of their parents that created them. Because they overcome it all. The pain became forgiveness. Love does not dwell in the weaknesses of the other, but covers the imperfections and the resentment.
 
Myself, I married a man of German descent, the enemy of France. The priest in my hometown, Father Durieux, said to me:
 
“I had 14 brothers and sisters and my grandparents were living with us up in the mountain. That was a huge table of 19 people over dinner. The Germans came and burned our house. This was the first time I saw my father cry. One German soldier said to him, witnessing the scene, ‘I am ashamed to be a German.’”
 
This soldier repented for his country. He was so sorry that this beautiful family of 15 kids were left with nothing. My husband also repented publicly in my hometown for the crimes of his ancestors.
 
I am also so sorry to see the anger and unrest everywhere in America today.
We also need to repent for things left unsolved. This is the time where we make the wrongs right. We say: “We are sorry, please forgive us, we love you.”
 
It is the same in the family, especially if our marriage is for healing our nations. We say to our partner: “I am sorry if I hurt you, please forgive me. I love you.”

I remember her dad, Pierre my favorite uncle, was a bit shocked that his only and unique daughter was leaving her country and her family to go and have a new life in America with someone from another race.

Today all my love goes to these most special families who are healing the divide. World peace through ideal families. Is it not so?
 
Elisabeth Seidel

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