I FORGIVE YOU
“It is our choices… that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
J.K. Rowling
There is no shortage of hate stories and victims of hate crime in the world but going through the hardship and still having the courage to forgive is something that happens very rarely. According to various news sources, on October 30, 2015, Jama, a Muslim of Somali descent, who came to Minnesota from Kenya in 2000 and is a US citizen, was attacked by Jodie Burchard-Risch, 44, of Ramsey, for speaking Swahili (the first language of the Swahili people) to her family.
According to a criminal complaint, BurchardRisch was dining at Minnesota Applebee’s in Coon Rapids when she overheard Jama. BurchardRisch yelled at Jama to either speak English or go back to her country and then refused to leave when a restaurant employee tried to step in. Jama felt panicked. Terrified. Without any provocation, Burchard-Risch threw a drink at Jama, grabbed a glass beer mug, and smashed it in the woman’s face before fleeing. The attack left Jama with a deep bloody gash on her lip that required 17 stitches, as well as cuts to her nose and right eye.
“Let God transform you into a new
person by changing the way you think.
Then you will know what God wants you to do.”
The Holy Bible
Jama came face-to-face with her attacker in court and offered the woman her forgiveness. On
December 20, 2016, at the Anoka County Court, Jodie Burchard-Risch was sentenced to 180 days in jail followed by five years of probation, along with alcohol monitoring and counseling.
Wounds provide an eye
to find new possibilities.
At times holding back tears, Jama said she felt her body tighten as old memories floated to the surface. She still carries the trauma of the attack with her. It’s hard to talk about it, but she bears Burchard-Risch no ill will. “My religion, Islam, teaches me to forgive so I can get on with my life. In front of everybody here, I do forgive you, and I hope that you choose love over hate… I just want you to understand at the end of this that we are all the same. Look deep into your heart. No one can find meaning for you. Only you really know what’s in your heart. Heart is courage and compassion. Without it, life is empty, lonely.” Jama told Burchard-Risch.
Burchard-Risch nodded glumly and said, “I am terribly sorry, Jama, for what I have done to you. Please forgive me.”
Forgiveness is not easy, but it is a prerequisite for effective prayer. Jesus instructs us, in Mark 11:25: “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop.”
You find your way by opening your eyes. And your heart.
What a contrast between riotous living and righteous living.
I am proud of you, Jama, for showing such an act of kindness and forgiveness, which is not so easy, especially as you suffered greatly and are still going through the same. You have experienced the incredible sense of hope, energy, and joy that comes from discovering what the Almighty God put you on this planet to do. It is far better to forgive and forget than to hate and remember. I believe forgiveness is the best form of love in any relationship. Bravo!