GIVING. PRAYING. FASTING
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what she had said and thought about Israel. He also told her to pray
for him like she prays for herself and to say she forgave him each time
she thought about him.
The Meeting
In 2004, Johnson-Roy reached out to Israel for the first time with a
request to meet him. He rejected the request as he felt he wasn’t in the
“right place” mentally to meet her and he also questioned JohnsonRoy’s motives. In 2005, Johnson-Roy requested another meeting with
Israel and this time he agreed. She did not know what to expect at the
meeting but once it was over, ironically, Johnson-Roy said she became
a “free” woman.
“It was beyond belief-what took place in that room that day. We were
able to sit down and talk. I said, ‘You don’t know me. I don’t know
you and my son didn’t know you.’ I told him, ‘We’re here to get to
know one another.’ And that’s what we did,” said Johnson-Roy. “I was
the offender set free that day. …God delivered me from, from all of
the bitterness and hatred that I had for him. He instantly took it away
from me.”
In fact, after Israel hugged her in what was a powerful moment,
Johnson became very emotional and a friend rushed to her side to
hold her up. She said at that moment she felt something leave her
body - a root of bitterness.
“And when she lifted me up, I began to feel something moving in my
feet and it moved up and up and up and I felt it leave out. Instantly, it
was over,” said Johnson.
Israel also felt free – felt like a weight had been removed from his
shoulders although he still took responsibility for unjustly taking a life.
“Not only did I begin to make amends but I had to live who I said I
was-the change I said I wanted to be. So there was no turning back
after that,” said Israel.