Chris Carrier Case

As I was reading the chapter on forgiveness in Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling by McMinn (2011), the personal life experience that jumped out to me was when I had to make the decision to truly forgive my ex-boyfriend and his parents for the emotional pain they caused me. After living in New Jersey for a month and spending time with my boyfriend and his family, working, and taking care of an elderly lady with dementia my world came crashing down on me. My ex-boyfriend’s parents discovered sin in his life and told me I could no longer pursue a relationship with him because of the sins he had committed. After finding out the sinful things my ex-boyfriend had done, I chose to forgive him. I also chose to give him a second chance at a relationship with me, but my effort to salvage our relationship was futile.

Forgiveness have important medicinal effect on health. Researchers and study have shown that people who forgive have less chances of health issues like heart attack and brain tumor. “People who hold tolerance views of human nature and don’t seem to nurse grieveness unduly tend to have blood pressures in the normal range” (Callwood, J. 2007, p. 153). Writer in the above findings tells her readers the medicinal effect of tolerance. She beautifully explains the positive effect of forgiveness in contrast with unforgiveness where her contrasting finding says “Unforgiving people, some studies show, are three times more likely to have heart diseases as people who don’t carry grudges”(Callwood, J. 2007, p.153). Writer here is addressed to people who cannot or do not forgive and tells them how harmful holding grudges are to their health. She beautifully explains the finding by telling first the negative effect of not forgiving in comparison to

As human beings we are often reluctant to let go of our anger and unwilling to forgive others. This becomes especially true in the case of loved ones or family members. The poem, “How Do We Forgive Our Fathers?,” written by Dick Lourie, addresses the different dilemmas associated with a child forgiving his/her father. In his six-stanza poem, the poet discusses how a child should forgive their father for traumatic events imposed on the child. This includes reasons for forgiveness, appropriate time to forgive, and whether or not to even forgive at all. Detailed through the different stanzas, the poem suggests that until one learns how to appropriately forgive another for wrongful behavior, they will never be able to let go of resentment and

It is also vital to look at Wilson’s view on the practice of forgiveness and how if an individual decides to ignore it, it can place a road block in their process of change. She believes that God speaks about forgiveness for the following reasons:” (1) we are all sinners with whom to relate so we’ll need to become skillful forgivers (2) God makes forgiveness a centerpiece of our healing process because living in un-forgiveness is so much worse (Wilson, 2001).

Thematic Statement: Forgiving someone for their mistake can make yourself free of anger and bitterness.

Throughout life everyone has been in a situation where they were offended or they have offended someone else. Therefore, forgiving someone is therapeutic for the victim, and the offended. However, when someone is wronged, justice is what they seek. On the contrary, when people feel pain from being wronged, they experience an “injustice gap.” Worthington defines “injustice gap” as, “the difference between the way the person would like a transgression to be resolved, and the way things are perceived to be currently” (Worthington Jr, 2005, pg. 121).

After taking a canoe ride on an icy lake, 21-year-old McQuillen had vanished in southern Wisconsin. He slipped through their fingers like water, and it happened so suddenly. There is no mistaking, however, that McQuillen was dearly loved. The grief had been only multiplied when they learned that not just McQuillen but all four of the young men involved had been killed in the accident.

In FYS we were taught many ways to live in the world through the stories we read, speeches we listen to, and the projects we did. In the book, Ordinary Grace, by William Kent Krueger, The Chosen, by Chaim Potok, and Destiny of The Republic, by Candice Millard, I saw a few prominent themes of how one should live. In these three books I learned about the author 's voice through their writings. I saw how one should live their life. In these books the authors shared common themes through their writings. The authors showed how to live life with forgiveness and live life with faith. Krueger and Potok both showed me through their novels how to forgive someone and they did this by showing that there is a bigger picture in

Receiving the forgiveness of someone who has been wronged is a hard thing to do, it takes an understanding of one another for it to be achieved. One must see what was done wrong and why it affected the person the way it did. However, it isn’t just a one-way street, the affected person must also understand why the action was committed and what emotion or emotions drove it. The act of giving forgiveness and gaining it requires an effort from both sides to be made in order for the emotional healing process to begin. This concept is shown in numerous areas throughout the book, Touching Spirit Bear. There are many periods of time in the book where a character recognizes how they’ve impacted another character, whether it be physically or emotionally

Chris McCandless, A.K.A Alex Supertramp, is a man that wants nothing to do with his parents anymore. His parents use to put himself and his sister in a position where they had to choose which parent they wanted to live with after a divorce. He wants to be his own person again. McCandless wants to be the person that doesn't worry about making all these hard decisions. He wants to break away from the responsibility and pressure of his family life and throw it away, just be able to get up and go wherever he wants.

Forgiveness has been defined in many ways by psychologists and researchers with no one universal definition. Hill (as cited in Maltby, Day and Mackaskill 2001) state that it is widely agreed that forgiveness involves a willingness to abandon resentment, negative judgement and indifferent behaviour towards the person who has hurt them Although research is recent, from the last 15 years, it has helped develop our understanding of forgiveness . Research has shown that forgiveness gives positive mental health and prevents the development of mental disorders such as anxiety, depression and stress. Two major models of forgiveness are Enright’s model and Worthington’s (2001) pyramid model to REACH forgiveness. Both these models involve steps and

By Immaculeé forgiving who seems to be the most unforgiving person, she inspired many to be confident in forgiving. She also demonstrates that forgiveness is the cure to moving

This client was Christian and from my estimation now looking back was just beginning their walk with Christ and not on the same maturity level that I was at that time in my walk with Christ. At that time I knew how forgiveness first and foremost is obedience to God, and secondly how it can set you free from so many emotional problems, McMinn said, “Forgiveness, in its theological and spiritual context, is profound, life-giving, and transforming. When we remove the religious context and think of forgiveness only as a clinical technique, we risk losing the essence of forgiveness.” (2011, p. 254) After reading this chapter it made me re-live an area in which I was not fully equipped to help client maneuver their way through. This particular chapter has allowed me to see how vital forgiveness is in a therapeutic session, and how it must be used carefully. It is made me aware of how important my Christianity is to forgiveness, but also to assess the level my client is currently on before beginning a session on forgiveness. Reflection

The general topic of forgiveness has received a magnitude of attention and research on a conceptual level in recent years. Hall and Fincham consistently noted, however, that self-forgiveness had little to no empirical study or research documented and believe this is a critical piece to an individual’s overall emotional health. In an effort to stimulate additional research on the

Sometimes a simple act of forgiveness can change someone for the better. In the story “Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes, a boy named Roger attempts to steal the purse of Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones but is amazed by her kindness and generosity even after his evil deed. Mrs. Jones can be seen as a forgiving character who Roger looks up to. When she cared for Roger, allowed him to be free, and taught him a lesson, she exhibited the traits of a forgiving person. Mrs. Jones displayed forgiveness after caring for Roger, someone who had tried to steal from her.