This isn't the sort of story we see very often. It's the story of a woman who reached through her pain, with God's help, to forgive.
Nancy Eileen Harris sat on the witness stand Tuesday facing the man who had beaten, bound and cut the throats of her minister husband and daughter. She did not tremble with rage. She did not curse Russell Sedelmaier.
She smiled at him and, in a voice that sounded almost motherly, she said: "Russell, Russell, because I value the gift of life, and I know God forgives and loves all of us -- especially you -- I support a sentence of natural life."
... Nancy Harris, a small woman dressed neatly in a black suit, said she is satisfied with the life term.
"I really believe capital punishment continues the cycle of violence," she said.
Nancy Harris said she remains in shock, unable to work, and struggling to understand God's role in her pain.
"I still have some genuine questions between myself and my maker," she said. "And yet, I'm just sensing the answer lies in the future and that things will be well. My faith is being ultimately strengthened, but it's not a simple process."
This is the kind of Christian for whom we should give thanks.
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