Curry commentary: Incredible forgiveness

• Oct. 4, 2006 | 6:26 p.m. ET

Incredible forgiveness (Ann Curry, NBC anchor)

Today, with tears in his eyes, a minister described to me seeing an Amish mother embalming her 13-year-old daughter Marian, who was shot in the forehead at the school.

She was carefully and lovingly dressing her girl in white, even putting the cotton in her nose.

All around the family watched, crying softly, even the little children, who listened as their grandfather told them not to hate the gunman who did this. 

"Forgive," he was instructing them... "forgive, as God forgives us..."

Reverend Rob Schenck, called it the most powerful moment in all his 25 years as a minister.

This forgiveness seems especially incredible, coming on the same day the coroner is being reported to have counted almost 20 bullet wounds in the body of a 7-year-old girl.

An Amish woman told me perhaps the good that might come of this tragedy is, "We can tell people about Christ and actually show you in our walk that we forgive, not just say it, but in our walk of life.  You know you have to live it, you can't just say it. "

I realize I did not know what forgiveness was until now.

Ann Curry continues her reports on the deadly school shootings that took place in an Amish schoolhouse on Today all-week and on Dateline Saturday.