The twins and I used up most of a box of tissues watching
October Baby. It is a movie about a girl named Hannah who survived a failed abortion. The story was written in a way that pulled every ounce of compassion out of me, for Hannah, for her
adoptive parents, for her birth mother, for the friend Jason who helps her hunt for answers, for the nurse who worked at the clinic. It was healing to see the way Hannah chose modesty as a teenage girl, and I feel grateful to have shared it with my daughters, who appreciated it too.
One of the most potent messages of the movie was forgiveness. Hannah lets go of the anger she feels, and peace flows in like a cool river. Having pictures of what forgiveness looks like feeds
me in a way that a marathon of sit coms and formulaic sci fi never can.
Currently I am struggling to forgive someone, and watching October Baby felt like a pivotal piece in knowing how to do that. Forgiveness is a private affair, skittish around an audience. Even announcing its presence makes it disappear faster than a hummingbird outside your window.
But these images are branded on my heart... the transition from confusion and
hopelessness, to serenity.
Forgiveness. It's good for what ails ya.
