"The seeds are sprinkled; they may blow away or be choked by weeds, or they may grow. My part is to be obedient to God's call to truly forgive, to speak that word of love and grace. God is the one — not me — who can plant those seeds of love and help them take root and grow within a human heart. I cannot change the heart of a killer. But God can.

"Many people — there is no shortage of them — are willing to write off the David Biros [her sister's killer] of the world. I was one of those people once. Here was our argument: Look at what he did! It's so evil, so depraved, that only a malignant heart could have concocted it. He is without feeling. Any remorse he might express later is only a sham. He will never change.

"It is not true. I know this from my own transformation. God changed my heart. Why not the heart of David Biro? Why not the hearts of the thousands of people languishing in prison who have committed crimes for which we are willing to lock them up forever, without a second thought?"