What Would You Say?

A woman recently wrote a heartbreaking confession in the counseling section of a magazine that I read.

She was raped shortly after being wed. The rapist was her sister-in-law's husband. Her husband was being treated at a hospital and her sister-in-law was at the hospital to visit him at that time. The woman told her sister-in-law about the incident. Her sister in law asked her forgiveness and begged her not to disclose this to their families and relatives. She was heartbroken because no one stood beside her. Not even her husband. Her husband and her sister in law prefer to save themselves from embarrassment.

Shortly after, the woman was pregnant and gave birth to a son. Her sister in law adopted the woman's son as an act to redeem her husband's bad deed. Two decades later, the son is aspiring to be a pastor and is studying at a seminary now. The woman's heart wound hasn't healed. She is longing for her son to recognize her as his biological mother. Up until now, her son knew her as his aunt. The rapist has grown old, weak, and sick. She has been distant with her husband since that incident.

In that article, she is asking how to tell her son about the truth and what would be the best way to tell her son.

If I was her counselor, I would suggest her to take the truth to the grave for her son's good sake. It's cruel but it would be the best. Any sane mother would love to be recognized by her own flesh and blood but telling the truth might make the son hate the origin of his existence. He might also think that God has destined him to be a pastor as a redemption of his biological father's deed. Not because of his pure love of God . Moreover his son has many years in his life to come but the woman has reached her old age. The truth might hurt her son for the rest of his life.

What would you say if you were the counselor of that article?