In the "Beyond Suffering" course I am taking, I have been exposed to greater detail about the sufferings of those with disabilities during WW II. It has been heart-breaking to learn that they were considered "worthless eaters" and were involuntarily sterilized and abused and killed. It is hard for me to fathom the cruelty man can impart on others.
On my recent trip to Oregon, God divinely placed me next to two wonderful sisters on my flight. I loved them instantly. During our flight they shared their testimony with me. Both of them, along with their parents and brothers and sisters, were in concentration camps during WWII. My heart could not bear the stories they shared with me. Even though this happened before I was born I feel an obligation to apologize to them for the pain and suffering they endured, simply because I am part of the human race that inflicted these atrocities.
Towards the end of our flight, I asked one of the sisters how she worked through bitterness and anger and unforgiveness. She said, "Oh I have to forgive because that is the only way I am free. Jesus suffered so much more than we did. I am very grateful."
My friend still suffers from nightmares at times and almost 70 years have gone by. She has a beautiful heart though full of forgiveness for those that harmed her. Her love for the Lord was very moving to me. They both touched me in ways I will never forget.
Thank you, Lord, for bringing them into my life. May the sufferings they endured never happen again.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5New International Version (NIV)
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