Amish Grace

It's not often I turn on a Lifetime Movie to learn about godly men (it's not often I turn on a Lifetime movie in general...), but Amish Grace is a beautiful exception.

Based on the events of the 2006 school shooting in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Amish Grace tells the story of Gideon (a stunning performance by Matt Letscher) and Ida (and a noteworthy turn by Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Father of the Bride) Graber, a couple whose fourteen-year-old daughter is murdered at the hands of a man who, in his rage against God, follows through with the most appalling act he can think of. Gideon and other Amish elders leave the world scratching its head when they visit Amy Roberts (Tammy Blanchard, Bella), the wife of the gunman, to offer forgiveness and condolences a few hours after her husband's rampage.

Ida refuses to forgive so easily. She rages. She resents. She blockades herself against the world, and most importantly against her husband and her God. Justified actions, perhaps, of a woman who just lost a daughter. And watching her struggle to regain any sense of normalcy would alone make the movie worth seeing. But Ida's war is not the lifeblood of this film. Though he's calm and steady, her husband's torment is more horrifying and compelling. Gideon's response to tragedy scares me--a woman who thinks she's pretty strong--to death.

Ida lets it all hang out there. She has meltdowns. She goes her own way. She feels out loud as much as she needs to. Gideon has to bear the same grief, but he has to maintain control. He has to stand for his community. Stand for his wife who's close to leaving him. Stand for his daughter who feels guilty she's alive when her sister is dead. Stand for his faith when his life is falling apart. At times, the agony on his face is life-shattering.

Amish Grace made me grateful that others are called to "love as Christ loved the church"--I doubt if I could ever have the strength to be a rock at the very moment when my soul was crumbling into dust. But Gideon did. Because Christ did. And Christ was the Son of Man: the manliest of men.