Students and faculty, along with members of the Nashville community, came together Thursday evening to hear an extraordinary story of forgiveness and love.
Stephen Owens and his mother, Gaile Owens, were on campus Thursday to share the story behind Owens’ new book, Set Free: Discover Forgiveness Amidst Murder and Betrayal.
“This journey is about moving forward,” said Stephen, author and teacher at Christ Presbyterian Academy. “This journey has always been about moving forward.”
The book tells the story of how Stephen found peace and forgave his mother after her incarceration for attempted murder of his father.
Hosted by the Lipscomb University Serving and Learning Together Program, the Institute for Law, Justice and Society and the LIFE Program, the evening circled around themes of forgiveness, reconciliation and justice.
In 1984, Gaile was convicted of paying someone else to kill her husband, and she was sentenced to death until her sentence was reduced in 2010.
Stephen shared his memory of finding his father beaten and lying on the floor with students, sadness etched on his face. A year later, he testified at his mother’s trial and cut off all communication with her for over 20 years.
In 2008, Stephen took the first step to reconnect with Gaile and begin establishing a new relationship with her and in 2009, Owens saw Gaile face-to-face for the first time since her trial.
Attributing his journey to forgiveness to Proverbs 3:5, Stephen said he believes God laid out the path He wanted him to walk.
“I’m telling you today God was directing my path,” he said. “Nobody else could do that.”
Stephen admitted to the audience that forgiveness is not easy, but it is well worth the effort. Quoting Lewis Smedes, he acknowledged that to forgive is to set free a prisoner of self.
“When I walked out of that prison in 2009, there were two people set free,” Owens said.
“Mom, from the cells of her prison [and] me, from a place of anger and resentment. I walk with a lighter step these days.”
Gaile was released from the state parole board in 2011 and is working for Thistle Farms, a non-profit dedicated to helping survivors of addiction, abuse and prostitution find their feet. Gaile manages several business aspects of Thistle Farms and mentors young women.