The Ravine (30 page)

She opened her eyes and looked at them for the first time in several minutes. “Are you sure?”

They were shocked by her question, and neither Mitch nor Carolyn knew what to say, so they sat mute.

She was clearly in great pain. “I’m sorry. This is bringing it all back. And each time I go through something like this, it steals a part of me. I want to help you to understand, so you can begin to heal, but you must promise me that you will trust that what I’m going to tell you is the truth, even though in the natural it will not make sense. You must promise to use what I’m going to tell you to spread the message of hope and forgiveness despite the fact you will be scorned and ridiculed.”

Mitch and Carolyn agreed despite the fact they didn’t truly understand what they were agreeing to. Mitch prodded her slightly.

“Joanna, if you’re ready to continue . . .”

A cloud passed before the sun; the brilliant morning was washed in gray and the air turned chilly. Joanna hesitated. It was as if some force in the garden was trying to prevent her from speaking. As before, her expression changed: the lightness was swept away and was replaced by a pained expression. She took a deep breath and began again.

“Listen carefully.”

Then silence. She seemed to be trying to hear a faint voice, to watch something though her eyes were squeezed shut. She spoke slowly and carefully at first.

“Two angels appeared at Danny’s bedside the night before and said, ‘Do not do what you are about to do.’ Those angels attempted to convert Danny’s thinking, to show him there was another way. But Satan’s powerful lure was impossible for Danny to resist.

“At that moment he was given the opportunity to choose between darkness and light. In his confusion, it was the darkness that appeared to be the truth.

“I said, ‘We always have free will, Danny.’ That’s what I tried to remind him of, but I knew he wouldn’t listen.

“All through the next day he struggled with his decision. I seized the opportunity to push him toward the light. I prayed intently all day and all that night. At one point, that night, very late, he decided to forget the plan, and told that young man in the garage that he was only joking. For a moment I thought we had won. Then the darkness overtook him, pushed him toward the lamp, and shouted, ‘Just cut the cord, Danny. Just cut the cord so you will be prepared. You can decide what to do later.’

“But the instant he sliced the cord and picked up the lamp, he was prodded up the stairs. The dark shadow stood behind him and whispered in his ear, ‘It’s too late Danny; the cord is cut.’ He swung the lamp at his side and the cord dragged on the steps. Then he stood outside the door. Now the darkness gave him one last nudge: ‘Danny, it’s too late to turn back. How would you explain cutting the cord to Rachel?’

“It works a million times a day all over the world. A tiny nub of truth that makes a lie seem real.

“After Rachel, he lashed out at Evan. He was told he was doing the best thing for his sons, and he believed it. This was too much for me! I begged God to stop him, and fell to my knees, and perhaps I was heard. I will never know for sure.

“I’m sorry to have to tell you he was on his way to kill Christopher, too, when finally God sent an angel who blocked Christopher’s doorway and told Danny, ‘Stop! No more! Stop! You are not taking this one!’ It was those words that brought Danny to his senses and caused him to spare Christopher.”

Joanna put her head in her hands and began to weep. Mitch and Carolyn jumped up to comfort her, thanking her not just for today, but for what she had done that night. She looked exhausted, but quickly began to recover. A breeze swept through the garden and chimes softly
sang. The clouds moved past the sun and the summer warmth returned with a passion.

Joanna looked up at them and wanly smiled. “Thank you, but please stop fussing over me. I’m fine.”

She reached into a bucket of gardening tools that sat next to her, found a pair of clippers, walked to the edge of the garden, and selected a brilliant white rose.

“Please take this. I want the two of you to have it. I ask only that when you arrive home, you turn to Luke 23:34 in your Bible and place it between those pages forevermore. It’s a symbol of innocence and purity, and it’s meant as a reminder that love is truth and will always conquer darkness.

“What I’m about to tell you is the part of the story you will probably find incomprehensible, upsetting, and possibly even reprehensible. That’s because it’s the complete opposite of what most cultures believe and what you have been taught your entire life. All I ask is that you keep an open mind and ask God to guide you to an answer. If you choose to accept it, then perhaps this rose will provide you with the courage and wisdom to share this story with others.”

A few moments later, Joanna seemed restored to the vibrant woman who had greeted them earlier that morning. Her green eyes had regained their sparkle and the color had returned to her cheeks. She smiled mischievously, and then reached behind her head to release the ribbon that held her ponytail in place, shaking her head like a schoolgirl to reveal her magnificent mane of pure white hair.

Now she spoke with the excitement and alacrity of someone with very good news to share.

“I know this will be hard to accept, especially for you, Mitch . . . and yet I believe it is absolutely true. As I said, it will throw into doubt everything you’ve ever been taught. But as I alluded to before, this is not something you can understand when viewing from a human or a conventional mind.

“Please try to look at what I am about to tell you from God’s point of view. God sees from the inside out and He understands with perfect truth. He loves from the heart, not the flesh. And only God truly knows what is inside a man’s heart. He can see all of the good and all of the bad.”

Mitch suspected he knew where she was going, and Joanna was certainly right about one thing. He didn’t like it.

“He has said, ‘This man is your brother. I’ve forgiven him and you should as well. If you expect to be forgiven, then you must learn to forgive him. He is here with me.’”

Joanna then added, “I understand that this is hard to swallow, but it is the truth of God.”

Mitch had listened respectfully until that point, but he couldn’t contain himself any longer.

“So, Joanna, if I understand you correctly, you’re telling us that Danny is in heaven? Or rather, you’re telling us that God has told you that Danny is in heaven, despite the fact he murdered his wife and son and then committed suicide?”

Joanna noticed that Mitch had pushed the rose to one side of the table. He rolled his eyes and glared at Carolyn, who said, “Joanna, is that really what you’re telling us?”

“Yes, that’s really what I’m telling you.”

Carolyn watched Mitch do his furrowed-brow thing, and knew he was about to drill down into the details. At moments like this he wasn’t always the soul of tact, and so she kicked him under the table, which seemed to do the trick.

“Okay, Joanna, please don’t take this the wrong way, but why would God allow a murderer into heaven? Particularly one who then took his own life?”

Joanna thought before answering, because she knew from experience that this detail was simply beyond the capability of most people to comprehend or accept.

“Mitch, when Danny went to the ravine, he was filled with remorse. After killing Evan, particularly, he could not forgive himself, and then the same demons that had just pushed him to commit these horrendous acts turned on him, viciously accusing him of having done one of the worst things any man could do.”

“Well, they were right!” Mitch said.

“But Danny asked God to forgive him. He begged to be forgiven, calling out to Jesus to show mercy despite the fact he couldn’t forgive himself and took his own life.”

Before Mitch could respond, Joanna leaned in close and whispered, “At the very instant of death he was taken into heaven.”

Joanna sat back and looked at them with great sympathy, trying to find the words that would at least give them the willingness to consider what she knew to be the truth. “Danny, like all of us, was a child of God. He was a sinner, as we are, but his Father loved him nonetheless and brought him back home. God does not view sin in different levels. That is a creation of man.”

Mitch was far from convinced, and a part of him wanted simply to get up and leave. He could feel a sense of indignation at being asked to believe something that every fiber of his being screamed was wrong. It could only have been through some form of divine intervention that his thoughts failed to reach his lips before Carolyn spoke up with a more thoughtful reply.

“Joanna, truthfully, we’re not ready to accept this. I know you are just asking that we keep an open mind, and we’ll do that. I can’t deny
that something wonderful has happened over the last few days. My heart has been lifted. While I still miss Rachel terribly, and will always grieve for her, I now know that she is still with me and for that I will always be grateful. But, if I’m not mistaken, you said before that Rachel had forgiven Danny.”

“That’s right. She has, and so has Evan.”

Joanna looked down at her hands and then back up at each of them in turn. “I understand how you feel. But I want you to consider something. And perhaps it will help you to understand the power of forgiveness. You can remain angry at Danny, you can hate him, you can hope he will rot in hell and be punished for the rest of eternity. That’s your choice. But then you will stay trapped in your anger and be imprisoned by your own emotions because of a desire to see another person suffer. Ask yourself: do you want to be guided by hate, or by love?”

Mitch finally started to calm down and listen. Something Joanna had said reminded him of his experience yesterday. He knew that on a certain level, Joanna was right, but he was not yet ready to relinquish his anger at Danny.

He picked up the rose and handed it to Carolyn as they stood to leave. “Joanna, we’re so grateful for how much you’ve helped us. I hope we don’t seem like a couple of ingrates, but it’s almost too much to take in so quickly. We need to go home and do as you suggest. We need to pray, and ask for guidance.”

He looked over at Carolyn for confirmation. “And we promise to keep an open mind.”

Joanna stood and said, “I know that, Mitch. And that’s all I ask.”

Joanna walked with them to the edge of the garden, and opened the door to the rear of the church. They chatted for a few more minutes and
then said their good-byes, promising to stay in touch. Joanna declined Mitch’s offer of a contribution to the church in exchange for a promise they and their boys would become regular volunteers at the soup kitchen.

After Joanna shut the door behind them they circled around to the front of the church and stood alone in the sanctuary. They wanted to take a closer look at the magnificent crucifix displayed above the altar.

As a work of art, it was astoundingly powerful, simply because it was so realistic. The lifelike face of Jesus looked down in agony, and appeared to be on the verge of speaking at any moment. Despite the great suffering depicted in the eyes, the tilt of the head announced the presence of a peaceful, open heart.

“He looks as if he is one breath away from death, and yet he exudes so much love,” Mitch said.

Carolyn unconsciously twirled the stem of the rose in her hand as they both looked upward. Then she reached into a pew, removed a Bible, and thumbed through it until she found the passage for which she was looking.

“Now I understand, Mitch! Do you know what Luke, chapter 23, verse 34, says?”

“No, actually I couldn’t remember which one that was when Joanna mentioned it. What does it say?” He locked eyes with the figure on the cross and was drawn in deeper.

Carolyn walked over, stood next to her husband, and squeezed his hand as they both lovingly looked up into His face.

“It’s the moment when Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’”

Acknowledgments

W
RITING A BOOK
is a time-consuming and complicated process, and is truly a team effort. First and foremost, my wife and I would like to thank all our family and friends who have encouraged and supported us along the way. There are too many of you to name here, but you know who you are, and we will be eternally grateful for your help. Your faith, love, and support have lifted us up through our dark times.