Sam Allebaugh - The Other Side of Forgiveness

Today’s guest is Sam Allebaugh. If you listened to my interview with Meredith Spies, you know that Sam was the driver of the single axle dump truck that struck and killed Meredith’s mother, Karen Giles. After I interviewed Meredith, she asked if I’d like to interview Sam as well. She thought that he’d be willing to talk to me about what happened and its impact on him. I told her that if he was willing, I’d absolutely want to talk to him. Within minutes, she’d made it happen and Sam and I were setting up this interview.  As I mentioned in Meredith’s interview, for years I’ve been of the opinion that forgiveness was something that was overrated at best, and forgiving someone who had killed someone else was absolutely not going to happen. But then I read about Karen Giles, Meredith Spies and Sam Allebaugh, and I changed my mind. I’ve had people in my life die, but, as of yet, have not killed anyone. I  know the grief and sadness that goes with losing someone, but I can’t imagine the overwhelming guilt that comes with the knowledge of unintentionally killing someone in an accident that could have been prevented. I think that the courage exhibited by Meredith and Sam speaks volumes about their characters, and also perfectly showcases the power of forgiveness.Until next time, take care of one another and thanks for listening.