In part 1 of this blog, we began to discuss Thordis and Tom’s journey through rape and reconciliation. Thordis’s era of shame was over, and she acknowledged that despite Tom’s actions or response, she deserved peace. It took Tom digging deep within himself to overcome his fear and denial to face this dark act that he committed. When he was faced with Thordis confronting him, instead of hiding from the truth, he owned it. He too was done running and knew that the way out of the pain was to walk through it.

While the human response is to naturally hurt the other person as deeply or more deeply than they hurt you, Thordis recognized that hatred and anger were not the way out of pain and they both sought understanding.

The fact that Tom was able to hurt Thordis so deeply showed that she expected better for herself and expected more from Tom. When people have faith in humanity, they expose themselves to being hurt deeply, but they also live life more wholeheartedly. This journey to reconciliation allowed Thordis to share her pain with Tom and for him to take the shame off of her and take responsibility for his actions.

In Thordis and Tom’s story, they were able to gain forgiveness and reconciliation because they had the courage to dig deep and face the shame and guilt that had been trapping them for a decade. Not everyone who is a victim of rape will get an apology or even an acknowledgment. Sometimes facing your perpetrator can be re-traumatizing. Counseling is a great way to let someone in who not only can hold your story, but also help you to gain peace and self-forgiveness. Every victim of rape deserves to find peace and to be able to write the ending of their story. If you have or know of anyone that has experienced a rape, please call and make an appointment today.

Written By: Chelsey Beauchamp, MS