Anne Frank Forgives

I remember reading ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ at school. Anne was faced with such awful circumstances as an early teenager. Hidden inside indefinitely, her family lived in fear, as a noise at the wrong time from any of them could potentially cost them their lives. Their crime was simply being the persecuted minority of the day, Jews. Unfortunately, their persecutors, the Nazis, wielded incredible power in those days and were hell bent on the destruction of all Jews.

Anne had so much to be bitter about. She was a promising student with big dreams with her education now on hold; her father could no longer own the business he had worked so hard to establish; and the family had done nothing to deserve this punishment. Yet Anne records amazingly positive insights in her journal:

• In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.
• Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.
• How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
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This early teenager chose to look beyond the offences against her and her family and to continue to believe that life and people at their core were good!

Unfortunately, she died in a concentration camp at age 15. Imagine if she had not chosen this path of forgiveness and gratefulness over this period. How sad and bitter her life would have been. Instead, she gave hope to those around her and eventually people all over the world via her books.
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Holding onto bitterness and unforgiveness isn’t making the most of the life we are given. I encourage you to begin to let them go. Let me know if you want an ear or a prayer to begin to process yours.