Tonight at church we remembered the holocaust victims. It has been a tricky week for me at work. As you may or may not know my job is on the line and we have been warned that a number of us will face redundancy in the coming months. As expected moral is very low . It is a stressful time for everyone and I suppose at times like these people behave differently to what they do normally. I have prayed to God to help understand the reason behind their behaviour, and to feel confident that at the end of the day what ever happens it's mean't to be but I have struggled! Failed in fact. I have tossed and turned in bed, chuntered and moaned at work, played out scenarios of how I will get my revenge in my head. Tonight at Church the vicar read out a prayer that was found on a scrap of paper beside the body of a girl who died at Ravensbruck:
God you created us all in your own likeness.
We thank you for the wonderful diversity of races and cultures in your world.
Enrich our lives by ever-widening circles of fellow feeling and understanding;
both by what we have in common and by things in which we differ,
so we may come to know you more fully in your creation;
for you are Father, Son and Holy Spirit for ever. Amen. This girl could write such thoughtful words, in such horrendous circumstances yet I have struggled to find compassion for relatively minor wrong doings. Anyway it made me realise I need to try much harder not to give in to anguish and hate, it's not easy and it takes alot of effort but I'm going to try anyway if that girl in Ravensbruck can do it then I have no excuse!
