Discussion Reponse

I believe what contributed to Katy’s peaceful death was being able to communicate her feelings of fear of not being in right standing with God.  Even at a young age, Katy understood with the help of Anderson that in order to feel peace she had to let go of the hurt, anger, and misunderstanding she had with her family.  I feel that the knotted sheet was just the symbol and her honesty and forgiveness was the important part of her letting go.   For example, family members who are at odds with each other throughout life will find it very difficult when a loved one is dying and they have not been honest and forgiving and it causes a lot of pain within the family therefore, the dying person is not free to go on.  According to author Lauryl Ivers “Forgiveness at the End of Life says…” Forgiveness is one of the most important values .”  Katy’s need to be forgiven for the anger she had against her father for not letting her go to her friend’s house, and hiding her brother‘s toy was important to her in order to feel that God would also forgive her.  The person who is dying needs to let go of all hurt, regrets, unforgiveness to feel free to die in peace. 

Lauryl Ivers “Forgiveness at the End of Life” http://hrrv.org/