Huss Couple, “Forgiving to save our marriage”

“Forgiving was an important step, but I felt vulnerable and did not know how to pardon. A guide made it easier and helped me get to know together the process of forgiving.” This afternoon, Torbjorn Huss and his wife Sallyann, participants at the World Meeting of Families being held in Dublin, told about how they coped with the crises and wounds in their marriage. Presenting forgiving as “a deep act of love that starts with a decision,” the spouses retraced their experience, from falling in love to the crisis experienced in the seventh year of marriage. “Sallyann introduced me to the Catholic faith, which was a change from the secular society in which I grew up,” recalled Torbjorn, “after seven years of marriage, life had gradually approached us and our plans for life were not working. We did not have any children yet and this strongly affected me; I felt depressed and I was looking for some meaning.” Then, they participated in the International Eucharistic Congress that took place in Dublin in 2012 and went to a meeting promoted by Retrouvaille, an organization that supports couples in difficulty. “They gave us hope, and we could directly identify with their sincere testimonies. We immediately realized that we had to take part in the program, it was something different,” said the Huss couple, “we have learned how to communicate and listen effectively, and so understand ourselves and our spouse, the influences of the family of origin, forgiving, and conflict resolution.”