The Devil in Pew Number Seven by Rebecca Nichols Alonzo. This book is a true story, one of those stories that make you think it must be the product of someone’s imagination, but it’s not. This is the story about a man who terrorized the local pastor and his family for years until he finally caused the death of one of the family members.
The author, Rebecca Alonzo, was seven years old when this man caused her mother to be killed but her earliest memories are of being terrorized by him. Explosives were set off in their yard, their small dog was killed, and harassing phone calls were the norm. This family suffered abuse because one man was upset because they did not allow him to run the church they pastored, instead letting the church members decide how things should be done.
The man at the root of this evil, Horry Watts, was a wealthy, influential man and was not used to not getting his way. He was determined to run this family out of town. He succeeded, at the price of a life of one family member and the sanity of another.
The things this man put this family through are horrible, but ultimately that is not what this book is about. It’s about forgiveness. Rebecca was taught by her Christian parents that it was not their place to judge and that they were to forgive as they were forgiven.
So although this man caused terrible pain, this family bears no animosity, they have forgiven him. The strongest thread through the book is forgiveness, and why it should be freely given. After reading this it’s still hard to understand that kind of forgiveness but it certainly makes me look at the things I haven’t forgiven in my life in a new light.
This book is strongly religious so if that’s not your thing you may not enjoy it. For me, just reading about how strong their conviction was has strengthened my own faith.