Forgiveness for the New Year
I don’t know about you but I get
quite stressed around Christmas. I worry
that I won’t get anything done in time and that I will have too much food
leftover, or heaven forbid – not enough!
I hate the dark evenings that begin at five o’clock and as much as I
love having my family around me, I almost begin to dread it. So, I was going to make a humorous quip about
dealing with this stress (probably one which would have suggested wine – my
usual remedy). But then something got in
the way. Nelson Mandela died and with
him the legacy of forgiveness. I
panicked for a minute, wondering who we could look to now to teach the patience
and tolerance he so strongly advocated.
And then I remembered Malala
Yousafzai – the sixteen year old girl who was shot for going to school. A few weeks ago I watched a documentary about
her, and I was struck not only by how she forgave her would be killers, but
that she wanted to make life better for them as well. She said, “We realize the importance of our
voices only when we are silenced.” That
is so true. Imagine what would have
happened in South Africa if Mandela had remained silent after he was
imprisoned?
And so now I look to Malala and
other young people like her – not just to continue on with the showing us the
way, but to carry on with Mandela’s mandate of forgiveness and peace.
Have a Merry Christmas and Happy
New Year.
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