FORGIVING, A STEP TO HEALING
The ringing of the phone breaks the silence of the SAT-7 TÜRK office, which is shut for the night. The answering machine picks up, and after the tone, a woman’s voice echoes through the silence.
It doesn’t matter that no one has picked up the phone, the woman doesn’t need someone to talk to her, she just needs to know that someone will listen, and SAT-7 TÜRK’s audience relations team does listen. At this point, the silence of the answering machine is enough, and the woman, Gizem*, pours her heart out as she describes the most difficult time of her life.
AN UNFORGIVABLE BETRAYAL
“I found out that my daughter was being abused by my brother in law.” Her voice cracks as she recalls the terrible betrayal from someone so close, and the horrible ordeal her daughter had to suffer through. “This was going on for a year” she sobs, the words now barely distinguishable.
As much as a betrayal this was for Gizem, it was even harder for her husband to come to terms with the fact that his own brother had abused his daughter. “Sharing this with my husband was very difficult” she explains.
STORMY WEATHER
The consequence of this blow to Gizem’s family, her daughter, and her marriage, was severe. “My husband and I were in such rough waters, such a hurricane, that for us to survive, to remain on that ship, was a true miracle”, she states, the tears still audible in her voice.
IMITATING CHRIST
Under these circumstances, whose heart and soul wouldn’t cry out for justice, for revenge? But having come to Christ only one and a half years ago, Gizem’s faith in God shines bright and strong.
“As the children of Jesus Christ, we couldn’t seek revenge. We couldn’t give him an eye for an eye. We could only let our just God deal with this terrible experience”, she explains.
Despite the turmoil, pain, and suffering her family has gone through, her response emulates Jesus Christ. Gizem has found a safe haven with God and “with God’s grace and His mercy, my husband, myself and my daughter have been healed.