Amish Grace

Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy by Doug Kraybill, Steven Nolt, and David Weaver-Zarcher is a book that was valuable to read for me. As a woman of faith who questions everything, it helped me to understand the Amish better, and to appreciate their faith walk. The authors were trying to impress upon the readers that it wasn't surprising that the community of Amish believers would forgive the man who murders their children, and that they even would go to his wife and family and forgive them also, meaning they would not hold a grudge against his family. The Amish community also reached out to this English (non-Amish) family in their time of need, financially and emotionally. This forgiveness offered so quickly was because this act of forgiving is a part of their everyday world, working on forgiving each other. One unique tradition of the Amish is to hold a meeting of members twice a year to iron out their grievances and to work on forgiving the members. The Amish know that it is unhealthy to hold grudges, and one other observance they honor is to refuse to take anyone to court. Although they do believe in letting the police and courts to carry out punishment for crimes, it is the duty of a community to forgive others if they are to expect forgiveness from God. The authors pointed out that it is not easy for the Amish to forgive, but something they believe in. This was an excellent book, easily read, and full of wisdom.