Forgiving My Father, Forgiving Myself

September 16, 2019
In this excellent inspirational guide, Graham (In Every Pew Sits a Broken Heart), daughter of Billy Graham, shares how she learned to forgive her father and move from brokenness to wholeness and freedom. While Graham has many fond memories of her father, work with a therapist revealed a need to acknowledge the pain caused by his long absences throughout her childhood, adolescence, and into her adulthood. “Forgiveness often feels unfair, like we are letting someone off the hook for an injury against us,” she writes. Graham shares the example of Jesus, who after being mocked, beaten, and crucified, used his last breath to grant forgiveness. She doesn’t consider herself an expert on forgiveness; instead, Graham sees herself as an apprentice who allows God to use her story to encourage others. She provides examples from her personal experience of the steps she has taken to ask forgiveness and to offer forgiveness to others and herself, such as making amends with her unfaithful ex-husband. Graham confesses that, at times, she has even needed to forgive God. Explaining the role that forgiveness plays in restoring relationships from a biblical perspective, she also examines the difference between forgiveness, trust, and reconciliation. Graham’s inviting analysis and affecting particular history will convince any reader of the merits of forgiveness.