‘American Sniper’ Chris Kyle’s Widow Leans on Faith: ‘[God Has] Been So Present in My Life’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Taya Kyle, the widow of “American Sniper” Chris Kyle, says she has found forgiveness for the man who killed her husband.
U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield, were murdered at a Texas gun range in 2013 by a former Marine they were trying to help.
“We’re about 11 years out of Chris’s murder — just over 11 years,” she told CBN, adding that the grieving process was “messy.”
“The great news is that I believe God prepares us for the things that are going to happen to us later,” Kyle said. “He just does it really lovingly and really gently, so we can’t predict the bad thing that’s coming.”
She continued, “So, I think, in a lot of ways, God had already prepared me by knowing that He’s the one — He is going to be there. He could lift my fear when I had it…I get chills talking about it. He had been so present in my life in different ways that were undeniable that I knew I had Him to rely on.”
Kyle also shared that she has forgiven the man who shot her husband.
“I don’t forgive the act,” she explained. “I forgive the person as a child of God falling to temptation repeatedly until it got to a different place of character.”
Today, Kyle is focused on running the Taya and Chris Kyle Foundation, which was founded “as a way to continue a post-deployment legacy Chris began, aiming to enhance military service, veteran and first responder marriages by providing a variety of experiences that helps them escape the everyday rigors that come with a life of service,” per the organization’s website.
She remembered her late husband in a recent emotional Instagram post.
“The more I learn, the more I see the wisdom in God’s divine plan. It is better not to know what is coming or ruminate about what might have been,” Kyle wrote. “We can’t adequately prepare for what might be our future. We aren’t the people today that we will be then.”
She continued, “Chris’s smile reminds me that every act of love, hug, and experience where we build memories is worth it. They last even if the people don’t physically remain. We must smile like this in heaven when we know our loved ones will have battles, learn and grow, and that all will be well. I imagine we smile because we know it’s the blink of an eye before we hug them like this again.”
Movieguide® previously reported on how Kyle’s children have also leaned on their faith in the aftermath of their father’s death:
Eleven years after their dad’s death, Colton and McKenna Kyle are opening up about how they’ve relied on their faith since losing their father, Chris Kyle, the “American Sniper,” at a young age.
“Though adversity, through fire, gold is refined,” Colton told PEOPLE. “I am a better man today than I would have been if I had not lost my father, especially at the time that I did. I have grown so much spiritually and emotionally.”
“[Losing my father] was devastating to me,” McKenna added. “My main coping mechanism was to look at everything as negative so I wouldn’t feel something I thought was perfect was taken away again.”
“[My faith] is definitely helping me,” she continued. “That’s been a bigger help than everything I’ve tried in the past.”
