Grace.......well, since you've taken such an interest in my 1981 deprogramming experience, I decided that a response was in order.
Sure, at the time.....I was defiant and determined to break free from these deprogrammers, thugs, and my parents so that I could reunite with my fiancé and twi. It was heart-wrenching to have to choose "one side" and not the other. I couldn't have both.
Forgiveness came relatively easy for me regarding my parents.....
My parents deeply loved me and were trying, as best they could, with this "deprogramming intervention."
They believed, from what they'd heard and read, that once I graduated from the corps, I would be "gone forever."
They were willing to spend another $16,000 or so.......to deprogram my fiancé, too.
In their mind, this was an intervention.......what other avenues were available to helping extricate a loved one from a cult?
The depth of love my parents went thru to do this, especially my Mom, is a testament to parental love and family.
My parents welcomed me with open arms.......WHENEVER my wife and I visited them.
Yesterday.......was Mother's Day. My mother passed away two years ago. I spent the day in solemn thankfulness for the unconditional love she lived. She went "far beyond her comfort zone" to try and help her youngest son out of a cult. Thankfully, I had 10 years with Dad (he died in 2008) and 17 years to reconcile my relationship with Mom. Forgiveness? It was easy.......looking thru the eyes of parental love.