How Nelson Mandela Helped me Forgive Southern Baptists

      "There is a time for everything under heaven...a time to heal"

                                                                Ecc. 3:1-8

 Recently I have read the biography of the South African leader Nelson Mandela. He was a remarkable man who did many great things. Of all the major things Mandela did, I am most impressed with the fact that he forgave those who imprisoned him for twenty-seven years.

Mandela had reason to be bitter over of his experiences with his captors, but chose to forgive them instead. His example of forgiveness has caused me to reconsider my own bitterness over some things that happened to me at a Southern Baptist school down in Texas. I realize that unless I forgive the people that offended me down there, I will always be imprisoned in my own bitterness. It's time to let it go and move on. It's time to forgive and let the healing process begin.

There is so much I want to accomplish in this life, I now know that unless I forgive, I will not be a "whole" person and will always be trapped in a prison of my own doing.