Colleen Dunn
Staff Writer

“I am sorry”… “I forgive you.” This is the most powerful conversation that we can have with one another. If those six words are spoken from the heart and are real, they can go a very long way. We witnessed an amazing event on campus when Rev. Walt Everett came to speak to us with the man who killed his son, Mike Carlucci. The connection makes us stop to think about what this life is all about.

Rev. Everett is a man who serves others, energized by God’s love. One day his life was turned upside down with the news of his son, Scott’s death. Scott was murdered by Mike, a drug addict with absolutely no direction in life. Rev. Everett and Mike came face to face in the court room, where Mike said “I am sorry”. Everett took this apology and let it sink in, he prayed to God to give him strength. He did not want to spend his whole life being angry with Mike and the horrible situation, and did not want the burden. So, he chose to forgive. The way he initiated forgiveness was through a letter. One year after Scott’s murder he sent the letter to Mike in prison. The last sentence of it, after a few pages of healthy venting, was “I forgive you”.

Mike had a conversion in prison; his eyes were opened to the beauty of life and humanity. That one person could forgive another. The power of that conversation is life changing. It is absolutely amazing that the strength from God was given to follow through with that letter. Rev. Everett has forgiven and has shown us what living a real life, of being free is all about. We should go through our lives living with that free spirit of showing forgiveness to all those who hurt us. Take some time to pray for, write a letter to, or call up someone you have fallen out of contact with due to a hurtful situation. It is worth it, to forgive and be free.