Forgiveness
Part of an article in the LA Times today really stood out to me. It reminded me of a modern day example of what Paul went through. The article was about Sen. Clinton and forgiveness. In it she tells a story about Nelson Mandela. I copied that part of the article below.
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As an adult, her first "real experience" with "observing the power of forgiveness" came at the 1994 inauguration of Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa, she said.
After thanking the guests who had come from around the world, Clinton recalled, Mandela said he was especially honored to have in the audience three jailers from the prison on Robben Island, where he had served 27 years.
"I was dumbstruck that in the midst of this historic moment, the three people who were asked to rise — amid all the royalty, presidents and prime ministers and other important officials — were three of his former jailers," Clinton said.
The incident made such an impression that when she saw Mandela in ensuing years, she broached the subject.
He told her that he got the insight about what hatred was doing to him as he was breaking rocks in a quarry one day. He had realized that his abusers had taken everything away from him except his mind and heart.
At that moment, Clinton said the former South African president told her, he decided he did not want to live in bitterness and anger. "He told me that when he finally walked out of prison a free man, he knew he had to leave the feelings of anger and bitterness behind or he would remain imprisoned," Clinton said.
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As an adult, her first "real experience" with "observing the power of forgiveness" came at the 1994 inauguration of Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa, she said.
After thanking the guests who had come from around the world, Clinton recalled, Mandela said he was especially honored to have in the audience three jailers from the prison on Robben Island, where he had served 27 years.
"I was dumbstruck that in the midst of this historic moment, the three people who were asked to rise — amid all the royalty, presidents and prime ministers and other important officials — were three of his former jailers," Clinton said.
The incident made such an impression that when she saw Mandela in ensuing years, she broached the subject.
He told her that he got the insight about what hatred was doing to him as he was breaking rocks in a quarry one day. He had realized that his abusers had taken everything away from him except his mind and heart.
At that moment, Clinton said the former South African president told her, he decided he did not want to live in bitterness and anger. "He told me that when he finally walked out of prison a free man, he knew he had to leave the feelings of anger and bitterness behind or he would remain imprisoned," Clinton said.
posted by ucla99 at 11:11 AM
2 Comments:
why is it that forgiveness just doesn't come so naturally??
oh wow. now, if only stories like that get more prominence in the news instead of other nonsense!
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