"It was," says Steve Scheiern, "a huge mistake." A mistake that nearly ripped a lifelong friendship apart. A mistake that forced him to ask some tough questions: Would there be trust again? Could there be trust again?
Today, Scheiern doesn't want to go into the details of the experience. He feels he's put it all behind him. But back then, it was all he could think about. At first, he wanted more than anything to be forgiven. "I thought I couldn't move on without it," he recalls. "I felt that forgiveness was the secret to living in freedom and peace again."
But when forgiveness didn't come, Scheiern started to pray. "I remember it as some of the most humble, feeble, desperate prayer I've ever offered," he says. "I got to the point where I didn't even want the solicitude of a good human relationship. I wanted a healing. Whether or not that would include forgiveness from my friend, I didn't know. What I did know was that I wanted to be lifted into the light."
