One Stream

In the mountains, there’s a stream that flows beside an old country church. Like the people in the pews, it usually stays within its banks. Just as it flows by the church, there’s a fork splitting the stream in two narrow branches before reuniting downstream. In the hot summer months, the large clear windows of the church are lifted, and the sound of the stream offers a descant to the congregation’s hymns. 

Tommy Ellis, a young boy who attends church with his grandmother each week, often stares out the window, particularly when the preacher gets carried away. One Sunday, the sermon was about the importance of forgiveness, and the preacher pointed out that there are two types of forgiveness - forgiveness of others and forgiveness of self. “Both are part of our one spiritual journey”, he said waving his index finger as if having found a hidden treasure. “We must forgive our brothers and sisters, but we must also forgive ourselves. The two might look separate, but they’re not, and some of us are good at one type of forgiveness, but not both.” Tommy didn’t understand what the preacher was saying, so he looked out the window at the stream. He watched as the stream divided and the water flowed until meeting again downstream.

On the ride home, his grandmother said how much she enjoyed the preacher’s sermon on forgiveness. “I never thought about there being two types of forgiveness,” she said, “forgiveness of others and forgiveness of self. I particularly liked the fact that the two are part of the same river.” It was then that Tommy realized he had heard the sermon, but he’d heard it by looking out the church window.