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>> Welcome to It Is Written
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Canada.
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Thank you for joining us.
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The word "impossible" means that
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it is not possible and Jesus
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talks to His disciples and He
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says that it is impossible that
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no offences should come.
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In other words, you are going to
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be offended.
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I am going to be offended.
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But He also goes on to say...
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We really do need an increase of
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faith to forgive
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multiple times.
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And our special guest today is
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Don MacLafferty,
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who has experienced
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what it means to have to
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forgive multiple times.
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>> Don, welcome to It Is Written
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Canada.
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It's so wonderful to have you
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with us here today again.
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>> I'm happy to be here.
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Canada means much to me.
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>> So why is that, Don?
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>> When I was a little boy, you
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know, I grew up in Hawaii, but
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for about eight summers of my
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life, we had the privilege of
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spending summers with Grandpa
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way up in northern Saskatchewan.
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And he was a beekeeper.
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And so I fell in love with the
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forest of Canada and the lakes
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of Canada and the rivers and all
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the wildlife out there.
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It was just beautiful.
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[RENÉ] So, Don, you mentioned
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that you were with your
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grandfather and
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we're speaking about forgiveness
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today, like Mike mentioned,
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so can you tell us about
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your grandmother?
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About Grandma Mac
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and the impact that she had
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on your life?
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[DON] Yes.
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And Grandma Mac is on the other
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side of my family.
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And she was a great storyteller,
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like a fantastic storyteller.
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And she was just also a great
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mentor in my life.
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So not just a storyteller to
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entertain, but would use these
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stories to also
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encourage me
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about how much my Heavenly
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Father loves me, how much He
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calls me to live for Him and to
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fall in love with Jesus through
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all these stories.
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>> So, Don, it is no doubt that
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you probably got your
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storytelling abilities from your
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grandmother.
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She sounds like a very
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vibrant person.
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Did she ever go through some
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tough times?
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[DON] Oh, yes.
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Oh, yes, and I think that those
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tough times not only moulded and
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melded her character, but God
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used her journey to do the same
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for me.
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You know, forgiveness is a big
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thing in life, whether we will
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forgive or not, if we find it
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impossible to forgive.
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I remember when I was a little
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boy and this was probably my
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first big time in life where I
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was really confronted with a
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need to forgive
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and it was by watching what my
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grandmother went through.
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So my grandpa and grandma
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on my dad's side
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had moved to
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a very rural area,
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and they noticed that the people
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needed a church.
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And the people were very poor in
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the area and they made the
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church, like, made the bricks
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with their own hands, like, you
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know, like form them out of the
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clay and put them out under the
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sun, and there's just not much
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to work with.
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But my grandparents knew how to
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build, and so they really put
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their shoulders to the work
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personally, physically, and
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helped make this church just
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rise up out of nothing.
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And they started ministering to
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the people there in their
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retirement years and just loving
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the people and visiting the
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people in the hospital and when
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they were sick.
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And that sounds beautiful,
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except my grandfather wasn't
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really accepted by the people in
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that area too much.
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Maybe because of his education
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level, maybe because his accent
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wasn't the same as what they
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were used to.
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Probably a whole bunch
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of reasons.
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He was just not fitting in with
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the culture, but he loved
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the people.
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Well, they
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started talking bad about him
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and criticizing him.
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It's one thing if it happens
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once or twice, but this started
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happening in heavier and
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heavier waves.
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And my poor grandfather was a
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very sensitive person, like,
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very, he had a big heart for
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people, loved people, was very
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sincere and so he took
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it to heart.
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And one day after months of
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this, and he was just starting
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to drag from the emotional...
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...strain of it all.
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My grandmother said at the end
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of one such day,
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"Honey, can I get you anything?"
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And he was in his favourite
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chair, and he said,
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"Just get me a glass of water.
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I'm just so thirsty."
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So she went into the kitchen to
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get a glass of water.
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When she came back, he was dead.
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[RENÉ] Oh, no.
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[DON] And she always said of
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that, she said he really died of
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a broken heart.
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It was just so much it just
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broke his heart.
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Well, I was just a little boy,
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probably eight years old or
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something.
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I was shocked.
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I had just visited them out in
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this beautiful rural area, maybe
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a few weeks before my
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grandfather died.
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My grandma was in shock because
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they had carved their little
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place, their little home right
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out of the deep woods and it was
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to be a place for their
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retirement years and they had
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put much thought and love into
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building that with their own
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hands.
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And now she was by herself way
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out in the middle of nowhere.
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No family or friends very close
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by at all and what to do?
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And she prepared for the funeral
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and she started realizing
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she had much bitterness
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about the passing of
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my grandfather.
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I remember she pulled me aside
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and she said, for the first time
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I remember ever having my
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grandmother confide in me
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her own personal need for the
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intervention of Jesus.
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[MIKE] And you're a little eight
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year old boy.
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[DON] I'm thinking probably
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eight years old, and she said,
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"Donny," that's what she called
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me, "Donny, would you pray for
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Grandma?"
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I said, "Why do I need to
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pray for you?"
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She always prayed for me.
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She said, "The people here have
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been hard on your grandpa and I
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want to forgive them, but I
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don't know how to forgive them."
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Now, isn't that amazing that
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she'd be that open?
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I don't see that as a bad thing,
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but it was a big trust
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on her part.
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And I remember
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her saying that
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at the funeral, you know, people
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would come up and say how much
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they loved my grandfather and
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what a fine man he was and how
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they loved him visiting.
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But my grandmother wrestled with
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it because some of those same
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people had talked behind his
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back and had criticized him and
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led him to being so hurt over
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these situations.
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And it was galling for her and
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it was a very bitter time.
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"Yes, Grandma," I told her, I
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said, "I'll pray for you."
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And I remember getting on my
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little knees and holding her
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hands and praying for my grandma
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and pleading with God as only an
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eight year old can, "God, would
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You please help my grandma to
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forgive all these people that
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hurt Grandpa?"
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That's the way I said it to God.
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And, you know, she did
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a hard thing.
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She basically had to sell off
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that little place almost for a
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song, you know, because in
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desperation, she had to get out,
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she couldn't take care of it
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by herself.
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And so she left that beautiful
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little place and
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she left also
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her bitterness behind.
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[MIKE] Oh, wow.
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[DON] And was able to forgive
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the people of that whole
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countryside and those woods.
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[MIKE] That's beautiful.
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So God answered your prayer.
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[DON] Yes, He did, and God
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showed His faithfulness.
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Now, that was just the first
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time I remember Grandma having
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to deal with forgiveness.
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The second time was after some
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years when she had gone down to
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Brazil and had come back
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and, you know, she decided she
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was not going to just mope
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around without my grandpa.
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She wanted to serve.
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So she had gone to Brazil and
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she had spent some years with my
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uncle and aunt, and she had
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served Jesus with them, caring
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for the people in Brazil.
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And she loved the children and
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the young people of Brazil and
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helped some of them learn
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English, and you get the idea.
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Well, one day she was back on
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furlough, you know, taking a
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vacation from that, and she was
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with her cousin, I believe it
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was a cousin, a close relative.
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And they were driving along
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beside a
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railroad track.
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And as they're driving along,
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they knew they were about to
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cross a railroad track, when
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around the bend came this train
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choo-choo-choo-choo, just coming
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along and the cousin of my
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grandma said, "Oh, I can get
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across before that train."
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And my grandmother said,
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"Oh, please don't."
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She put her hand on his hand and
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said, "Oh, you don't need
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to do that.
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We're already old and we can
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wait five or ten minutes for it
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to go by."
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And he said, "I can do it."
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He said, "Don't tell me what to
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do," and he stepped on the gas
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and he went right up on top of
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the track and it was a double
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set of tracks, and you know what
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happened, you probably can guess
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what happens.
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He stall is right on it and
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choo-choo-choo-choo, here's the
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train, I mean, it's barrelling
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down on them
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and the cousin
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and I think another relative,
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they were able to escape the
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train and she was stuck in the
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car and she was getting out.
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She had just swung her little
00:10:15.34\00:10:16.44
legs out, she was a little tiny
00:10:16.44\00:10:18.01
little thing, and when the train
00:10:18.01\00:10:20.05
hit, boom, it hit the car.
00:10:20.05\00:10:22.62
And she went flying.
00:10:23.28\00:10:26.19
And what's amazing is
00:10:26.19\00:10:27.46
she survived it.
00:10:27.46\00:10:28.92
And the cousin and the other
00:10:28.92\00:10:30.66
relative, they came out just
00:10:30.66\00:10:31.83
fine, but my grandma was really
00:10:31.83\00:10:34.23
broken up, like physically
00:10:34.23\00:10:35.63
broken up.
00:10:35.63\00:10:36.70
She had to be in a huge cast
00:10:36.70\00:10:38.93
and, you know, the impact just
00:10:38.93\00:10:41.20
threw her.
00:10:41.20\00:10:42.34
And it's amazing she
00:10:42.34\00:10:43.61
survived it.
00:10:43.61\00:10:44.44
[MIKE] Absolutely.
00:10:44.44\00:10:45.07
[DON] But this is the second
00:10:45.07\00:10:45.87
time I remember her coming to me
00:10:45.87\00:10:47.98
and saying, "Donny,
00:10:47.98\00:10:50.48
you know that I have always been
00:10:50.48\00:10:52.75
a physically fit and energetic
00:10:52.75\00:10:54.58
grandma who likes to get around
00:10:54.58\00:10:56.55
fast," and she would move fast.
00:10:56.55\00:10:58.25
Not only could she tell stories
00:10:58.25\00:10:59.85
with much animation, but she
00:10:59.85\00:11:01.82
would hike with us, pick
00:11:01.82\00:11:03.09
blackberries, go places, she
00:11:03.09\00:11:05.29
would take her little skirts and
00:11:05.29\00:11:07.03
tuck them in and hop on the back
00:11:07.03\00:11:08.23
of a motorcycle and go.
00:11:08.23\00:11:09.93
She was that kind of grandma.
00:11:09.93\00:11:11.37
And now
00:11:11.37\00:11:12.93
she had much pain and agony
00:11:12.93\00:11:15.30
because she was all broken
00:11:15.30\00:11:16.54
up, they had to remove one or
00:11:16.54\00:11:18.41
more of her little toes.
00:11:18.41\00:11:20.51
There was just many things that
00:11:20.51\00:11:22.08
happened out of that wreck.
00:11:22.08\00:11:23.58
And she said, "But the worst
00:11:24.08\00:11:25.78
thing is I keep replaying in my
00:11:25.78\00:11:28.25
mind how I reached over and
00:11:28.25\00:11:30.05
said, "Cousin, don't go."
00:11:30.05\00:11:32.89
And he did a stupid thing,
00:11:32.89\00:11:35.02
a crazy thing and
00:11:35.02\00:11:37.49
forced me to go over that track
00:11:37.49\00:11:39.49
and get stuck there
00:11:39.49\00:11:40.46
and he escaped.
00:11:40.46\00:11:41.93
The one who did it escaped and I
00:11:41.93\00:11:43.47
wasn't trying to do anything
00:11:43.47\00:11:44.67
wrong and this happened to me.
00:11:44.67\00:11:46.20
And she said, "And I resent him
00:11:46.20\00:11:49.07
and I am bitter towards him."
00:11:49.07\00:11:51.64
Now, I was now I think a
00:11:51.64\00:11:53.78
teenager, late teenager now
00:11:53.78\00:11:55.94
and again she said, "Donny...
00:11:55.94\00:11:58.11
...this is not of God
00:11:59.05\00:12:00.78
that I would have these feelings
00:12:00.78\00:12:02.08
towards my cousin.
00:12:02.08\00:12:03.75
Yes, he made a mistake
00:12:03.75\00:12:05.12
and he did the wrong thing,
00:12:05.12\00:12:06.76
but I should have the heart of
00:12:06.76\00:12:08.19
Jesus for Him and I don't.
00:12:08.19\00:12:10.33
Would you pray for me?"
00:12:10.33\00:12:12.09
Now, that's so tender to me
00:12:12.09\00:12:13.03
because she had mentored me so
00:12:13.03\00:12:14.30
many times and now she was
00:12:14.30\00:12:15.30
coming now again to me and
00:12:15.30\00:12:17.63
pleading with me, "Would you
00:12:17.63\00:12:18.73
please intercede and
00:12:18.73\00:12:19.77
pray for me?"
00:12:19.77\00:12:20.80
So I prayed.
00:12:20.80\00:12:21.70
I took her hands and I prayed
00:12:21.70\00:12:23.57
and I cried out to God that God
00:12:23.57\00:12:24.94
would help her forgive the man
00:12:24.94\00:12:27.61
who had not just put her life in
00:12:27.61\00:12:29.51
jeopardy, but now, because of
00:12:29.51\00:12:31.78
that one decision, now changed
00:12:31.78\00:12:33.82
the way she walked.
00:12:33.82\00:12:35.32
Now she walked with pain and she
00:12:35.32\00:12:37.52
would until the day she died.
00:12:37.52\00:12:39.32
So every day she had a reminder
00:12:39.32\00:12:40.89
of that.
00:12:40.89\00:12:42.09
And, you know, maybe our viewers
00:12:42.09\00:12:43.83
have stories, too, in their
00:12:43.83\00:12:45.16
lives where one crazy,
00:12:45.16\00:12:48.20
bad decision on someone else's
00:12:48.20\00:12:50.30
part has hurt the rest of their
00:12:50.30\00:12:51.73
life, right?
00:12:51.73\00:12:52.87
This happens.
00:12:52.87\00:12:54.14
So we prayed
00:12:54.14\00:12:55.97
and grandma had to wrestle with
00:12:55.97\00:12:57.87
that because every day she had
00:12:57.87\00:12:59.14
this physical reminder.
00:12:59.14\00:13:00.98
But God gave her grace to
00:13:00.98\00:13:02.94
forgive her cousin
00:13:02.94\00:13:04.68
and she became free.
00:13:04.68\00:13:06.05
You know, when you forgive, you
00:13:06.05\00:13:07.15
become free.
00:13:07.15\00:13:08.15
It's freedom to forgive.
00:13:08.92\00:13:10.22
So I kept on
00:13:10.99\00:13:13.72
growing up into,
00:13:13.72\00:13:15.42
now into my young twenties and I
00:13:15.42\00:13:17.19
became a pastor.
00:13:17.19\00:13:18.73
And I thought, "Wow, I'll never
00:13:18.73\00:13:21.10
forget how my grandma forgave
00:13:21.10\00:13:24.03
the impossible."
00:13:24.03\00:13:25.70
And-- but the biggest test to
00:13:25.70\00:13:28.77
forgiveness in my grandma's life
00:13:28.77\00:13:30.14
was still to come.
00:13:30.14\00:13:31.54
She had a big heart for little
00:13:31.54\00:13:33.51
children, and she loved telling
00:13:33.51\00:13:34.91
stories to children.
00:13:34.91\00:13:35.91
She always loved gathering up
00:13:35.91\00:13:38.08
clothes and sending them down to
00:13:38.08\00:13:39.55
Brazil for the children.
00:13:39.55\00:13:41.35
Early one morning, I think on a
00:13:41.35\00:13:43.15
Sunday morning, she was gonna go
00:13:43.15\00:13:44.72
early, early and package up
00:13:44.72\00:13:47.59
clothes at the church
00:13:47.59\00:13:49.36
and send them off.
00:13:49.36\00:13:50.69
And so she started going along.
00:13:50.69\00:13:52.26
Now, she couldn't walk like she
00:13:52.26\00:13:53.33
used to, but she still would
00:13:53.33\00:13:55.13
hobble along pretty good, pretty
00:13:55.13\00:13:56.56
good pace, and she made it
00:13:56.56\00:13:58.10
almost to the church.
00:13:58.10\00:13:59.53
But she did not know
00:13:59.53\00:14:00.97
that someone was watching her.
00:14:00.97\00:14:03.00
Not just watching,
00:14:03.00\00:14:05.01
but was following her.
00:14:05.01\00:14:06.71
In the mist and fog of the early
00:14:06.71\00:14:08.54
morning, somebody was following
00:14:08.54\00:14:11.31
her with evil intent.
00:14:11.31\00:14:13.05
And she just reached up to the
00:14:13.05\00:14:14.65
door of the church and to put
00:14:14.65\00:14:16.75
the key in, because she had her
00:14:16.75\00:14:17.82
own key, because she worked
00:14:17.82\00:14:18.95
there much.
00:14:18.95\00:14:19.95
All of a sudden, a hand grabbed
00:14:19.95\00:14:21.19
her from behind
00:14:21.19\00:14:23.16
and a big man swirled her around
00:14:23.16\00:14:25.66
and slung her over
00:14:25.66\00:14:28.03
his shoulder and
00:14:28.03\00:14:30.53
pulled her, dragged her, and
00:14:30.53\00:14:32.40
then carried her into the inner
00:14:32.40\00:14:35.00
part of the, like the courtyard
00:14:35.00\00:14:37.24
of the church.
00:14:37.24\00:14:38.77
And there he slammed her down on
00:14:38.77\00:14:41.64
the ground and
00:14:41.64\00:14:44.21
tried to strangle her and kill
00:14:44.21\00:14:46.41
her in all kinds of different
00:14:46.41\00:14:47.55
crazy ways, and then ended up
00:14:47.55\00:14:48.72
raping my
00:14:48.72\00:14:50.65
poor little grandma.
00:14:50.65\00:14:52.72
>> And how old was your grandma
00:14:52.72\00:14:54.52
at the time?
00:14:54.52\00:14:55.49
[DON] She was at least upper
00:14:55.49\00:14:56.79
eighties, yeah upper eighties.
00:14:56.79\00:14:58.49
And frail, you know, because
00:14:58.49\00:15:00.16
she's older, and then she's also
00:15:00.16\00:15:02.66
been through this other thing
00:15:02.66\00:15:03.70
with the, you know, the wreck
00:15:03.70\00:15:05.10
with the train.
00:15:05.10\00:15:06.27
So she's a frail little lady and
00:15:06.27\00:15:07.97
this was a big, big guy.
00:15:07.97\00:15:10.24
And so...
00:15:10.24\00:15:11.44
...he heard
00:15:11.97\00:15:14.18
some children playing
00:15:14.18\00:15:17.18
and it scared him off
00:15:17.18\00:15:18.45
because he didn't want any
00:15:18.45\00:15:19.31
witnesses, of course, and he
00:15:19.31\00:15:20.78
left her for dead and went
00:15:20.78\00:15:22.65
racing off.
00:15:22.65\00:15:24.22
And little children came up and
00:15:24.22\00:15:26.12
they looked and they said,
00:15:26.12\00:15:27.66
"What is that?" because they
00:15:27.66\00:15:28.76
saw, you know, her-- she's all
00:15:28.76\00:15:30.56
in tatters and she's bloody.
00:15:30.56\00:15:33.03
And they said, "Mrs. Mac,
00:15:33.03\00:15:34.63
is that you?" they said.
00:15:34.63\00:15:36.67
And she could barely talk and
00:15:36.67\00:15:39.10
she said, "It is me."
00:15:39.10\00:15:41.54
She said, "Call 911
00:15:41.54\00:15:44.24
and get emergency help."
00:15:44.24\00:15:45.94
She could barely say that, she
00:15:45.94\00:15:47.04
could just barely croak the
00:15:47.04\00:15:48.68
words out.
00:15:48.68\00:15:49.71
And the children said, "Okay!"
00:15:49.71\00:15:50.88
And they ran off and they hopped
00:15:50.88\00:15:52.11
on their bicycles and they got
00:15:52.11\00:15:53.28
Mom and Dad and they called.
00:15:53.28\00:15:55.12
And praise God, the emergency
00:15:55.12\00:15:57.95
vehicle came very, very quickly
00:15:57.95\00:15:59.85
and gathered her up.
00:15:59.85\00:16:01.36
She was just like barely there,
00:16:01.36\00:16:04.13
took her to the hospital and
00:16:04.13\00:16:05.66
rescued her life.
00:16:05.66\00:16:06.93
But the worse was still to come.
00:16:07.83\00:16:10.20
Night after night, you can
00:16:10.20\00:16:12.17
imagine what happened, she had
00:16:12.17\00:16:13.60
nightmares.
00:16:13.60\00:16:14.60
Now, my grandmother walked in
00:16:14.60\00:16:15.97
the peace of God for all her
00:16:15.97\00:16:17.74
life, except for those two other
00:16:17.74\00:16:19.07
times, and she knew
00:16:19.07\00:16:21.81
the power of Jesus.
00:16:21.81\00:16:23.21
But now she had these terrible
00:16:23.21\00:16:25.41
nightmares of this big man,
00:16:25.41\00:16:27.38
you know, brutally...
00:16:27.38\00:16:28.95
...terrorizing her
00:16:30.29\00:16:31.79
and coming at her and it was
00:16:31.79\00:16:33.76
just horrible.
00:16:33.76\00:16:35.06
She couldn't sleep and she would
00:16:35.06\00:16:36.89
scream in the night sometimes.
00:16:36.89\00:16:38.89
And...
00:16:38.89\00:16:39.69
...I remember getting a call
00:16:40.66\00:16:42.73
and she said, "Donny,
00:16:42.73\00:16:45.27
I am in trouble."
00:16:45.27\00:16:47.74
I said, "Grandma, you survived
00:16:47.74\00:16:49.54
that attack."
00:16:49.54\00:16:50.81
"Yes, I did.
00:16:50.81\00:16:52.71
But now I have something in my
00:16:52.71\00:16:55.44
heart that I have never known
00:16:55.44\00:16:57.38
like this before.
00:16:57.38\00:16:59.05
I hate the man
00:16:59.05\00:17:00.75
who did this to me.
00:17:00.75\00:17:02.05
He has caused me to live in such
00:17:02.05\00:17:03.72
fear every night.
00:17:03.72\00:17:04.69
I'm scared to go to sleep."
00:17:04.69\00:17:05.52
She said, "I've never been
00:17:05.52\00:17:06.49
afraid of the dark and I'm
00:17:06.49\00:17:07.69
afraid of the dark.
00:17:07.69\00:17:08.76
I'm never afraid to be alone and
00:17:08.76\00:17:10.23
now I'm afraid to be alone.
00:17:10.23\00:17:11.73
I hate this man.
00:17:11.73\00:17:13.09
What do I do?"
00:17:13.09\00:17:14.50
I was in my twenties when this
00:17:15.00\00:17:16.83
attack happened
00:17:16.83\00:17:18.03
on my grandmother
00:17:18.03\00:17:19.60
and I found myself
00:17:19.60\00:17:21.77
also to be frightened
00:17:21.77\00:17:23.54
by the hate
00:17:23.54\00:17:25.47
that I had
00:17:25.47\00:17:26.34
towards the man that
00:17:26.34\00:17:27.54
had done this.
00:17:27.54\00:17:28.88
I, you know,
00:17:28.88\00:17:30.75
how do I say this?
00:17:30.75\00:17:32.18
When violence happens
00:17:32.18\00:17:33.85
to you or someone you love,
00:17:33.85\00:17:35.85
it also stirs up within you
00:17:35.85\00:17:37.79
all kinds of feelings.
00:17:37.79\00:17:39.42
And as believers, we get
00:17:39.42\00:17:41.06
confronted by our need for Jesus
00:17:41.06\00:17:43.73
in a whole different way.
00:17:43.73\00:17:45.46
And so here I was young,
00:17:46.03\00:17:48.13
wrestling with these same things
00:17:48.13\00:17:50.23
and I remember I had
00:17:50.23\00:17:52.67
in private, had to really ask
00:17:52.67\00:17:54.87
God some tough questions.
00:17:54.87\00:17:56.20
Where were You when this
00:17:56.20\00:17:57.37
happened to my grandma?
00:17:57.37\00:17:58.77
Sometimes we ask God that,
00:17:59.37\00:18:00.51
right, when terrible things
00:18:00.51\00:18:01.48
happened to us.
00:18:01.48\00:18:02.11
[MIKE] Absolutely.
00:18:02.11\00:18:02.74
[DON] Where were You?
00:18:02.74\00:18:03.61
[MIKE] It's a fair question.
00:18:03.61\00:18:04.65
[DON] And I had to
00:18:04.65\00:18:06.38
wrestle with God on that and
00:18:06.38\00:18:07.68
think through it and pray
00:18:07.68\00:18:09.18
through it and also go to God's
00:18:09.18\00:18:11.09
Word about it.
00:18:11.09\00:18:12.72
I had to ask God to do a heart
00:18:12.72\00:18:15.32
surgery on me so that He could
00:18:15.32\00:18:17.73
cut out my hate
00:18:17.73\00:18:19.76
out of my heart
00:18:19.76\00:18:21.00
and give me forgiveness
00:18:21.00\00:18:22.16
for this man.
00:18:22.16\00:18:23.73
And so, and that had taken me
00:18:23.73\00:18:26.13
some time, like I can't remember
00:18:26.13\00:18:28.14
now, but it, you know, some
00:18:28.14\00:18:30.61
months to really wrestle that,
00:18:30.61\00:18:32.01
like some months.
00:18:32.01\00:18:33.58
And then finally, now back to my
00:18:33.58\00:18:36.21
grandma, when she was sharing
00:18:36.21\00:18:38.08
that she was wrestling with her
00:18:38.08\00:18:39.61
hate of him, and I had not known
00:18:39.61\00:18:41.72
that when I had gone through
00:18:41.72\00:18:43.08
this myself concerning her.
00:18:43.08\00:18:45.65
Now I thought, "Oh, now my
00:18:45.65\00:18:47.62
grandma is confronted with her
00:18:47.62\00:18:50.33
biggest need to forgive in her
00:18:50.33\00:18:51.99
whole entire life.
00:18:51.99\00:18:53.09
The other two stories, you know,
00:18:53.09\00:18:55.56
were difficult, horrible in
00:18:55.56\00:18:57.07
themselves.
00:18:57.07\00:18:57.93
Losing my grandfather
00:18:57.93\00:19:00.30
and also then losing, you know,
00:19:00.30\00:19:02.50
the body that she
00:19:02.50\00:19:04.37
loved to have work for her.
00:19:04.37\00:19:06.64
But now this was being violated
00:19:06.64\00:19:08.54
in so many different ways, many
00:19:08.54\00:19:10.31
different ways, all in one,
00:19:10.31\00:19:12.28
you know, attack.
00:19:12.28\00:19:13.62
And so I remember saying,
00:19:13.62\00:19:16.28
"Grandma," I said,
00:19:16.28\00:19:18.19
"Tell me more."
00:19:18.19\00:19:19.82
And I didn't know what more was,
00:19:19.82\00:19:22.09
but she told me more about how
00:19:22.09\00:19:24.49
when she was being attacked, how
00:19:24.49\00:19:26.56
she cried out to God.
00:19:26.56\00:19:28.00
And she cried out to God to be
00:19:28.63\00:19:30.40
with her and to help her.
00:19:30.40\00:19:31.93
And she even told her attacker,
00:19:31.93\00:19:34.50
"I forgive you, I forgive you!"
00:19:34.50\00:19:37.17
And, but of course, it didn't
00:19:37.17\00:19:38.14
stop him,
00:19:38.14\00:19:38.91
but she was trying to...
00:19:38.91\00:19:40.51
...she was trying to do the
00:19:40.51\00:19:41.28
right thing to offer him
00:19:41.28\00:19:42.31
forgiveness even while he was
00:19:42.31\00:19:43.78
attacking her, that just touches
00:19:43.78\00:19:45.08
my heart.
00:19:45.08\00:19:46.31
But, you know, she said, "But
00:19:46.31\00:19:49.28
God's still preserved my life."
00:19:49.28\00:19:51.79
And I said, "Yes, He did."
00:19:52.39\00:19:54.36
And I was still processing that.
00:19:54.36\00:19:56.52
But she said, "But what do I do
00:19:56.52\00:19:58.43
about my hatred of him?"
00:19:58.43\00:20:00.56
And I said, "God can give you a
00:20:00.56\00:20:03.03
heart surgery."
00:20:03.03\00:20:04.63
And she said, "What do you mean
00:20:04.63\00:20:05.93
by that?"
00:20:05.93\00:20:07.04
And I grabbed my Bible
00:20:07.04\00:20:09.10
and I said, "Grandma, do you
00:20:09.10\00:20:10.37
have a little Bible there with
00:20:10.37\00:20:11.44
you in the room?"
00:20:11.44\00:20:12.77
And she grabbed her Bible, it
00:20:12.77\00:20:14.24
was a tattered, worn Bible.
00:20:14.24\00:20:15.68
She loved the Word of God
00:20:15.68\00:20:17.01
very much.
00:20:17.01\00:20:17.95
And I said, "Go to Ezekiel 36:26
00:20:17.95\00:20:20.62
and 27."
00:20:20.62\00:20:22.12
And I prayed first that God
00:20:22.12\00:20:24.25
would send the Holy Spirit
00:20:24.25\00:20:25.82
to bless.
00:20:25.82\00:20:27.16
I said, "Grandma, God says to
00:20:27.16\00:20:29.39
you in His Word...
00:20:29.39\00:20:30.49
And Grandma was very quiet,
00:20:48.24\00:20:50.55
maybe a little too quiet, and I
00:20:50.55\00:20:52.05
wasn't sure how she was
00:20:52.05\00:20:53.38
processing this.
00:20:53.38\00:20:54.88
I said, "Grandma," I said
00:20:54.88\00:20:56.12
softly, "God's done this for me
00:20:56.12\00:20:58.72
and removed my hate
00:20:58.72\00:21:00.39
towards your attacker."
00:21:00.39\00:21:01.72
I said, "Grandma, I was scared
00:21:01.72\00:21:03.76
that if I ever saw that man,
00:21:03.76\00:21:04.99
what I would do to him and I
00:21:04.99\00:21:06.83
didn't wanna do to him
00:21:06.83\00:21:08.96
what I knew Jesus would
00:21:08.96\00:21:11.60
be so sad for me to do.
00:21:11.60\00:21:13.27
And He's given me the joy of
00:21:13.27\00:21:15.10
forgiveness by giving me
00:21:15.10\00:21:16.57
this heart surgery."
00:21:16.57\00:21:17.54
I said, "Grandma, is the Holy
00:21:17.54\00:21:19.94
Spirit calling you to have a
00:21:19.94\00:21:22.21
heart surgery?"
00:21:22.21\00:21:23.71
And there was again a pause and
00:21:23.71\00:21:26.48
very meekly and quietly she
00:21:26.48\00:21:29.25
whispered, "I need
00:21:29.25\00:21:31.99
this heart surgery.
00:21:31.99\00:21:33.76
I desperately need it."
00:21:33.76\00:21:35.76
And she said, "It seems so
00:21:35.76\00:21:36.96
impossible, though, for me to
00:21:36.96\00:21:38.66
think that God could do it."
00:21:38.66\00:21:40.10
But she said, "I know this is
00:21:40.10\00:21:41.40
the Word of God."
00:21:41.40\00:21:42.66
And so she said, "So I believe,
00:21:42.66\00:21:44.50
I choose to believe, but I don't
00:21:44.50\00:21:46.13
know how it's gonna work."
00:21:46.13\00:21:47.44
I said, "Grandma, you don't have
00:21:47.44\00:21:48.54
to understand how it will work."
00:21:48.54\00:21:50.47
I said, "That's God's business.
00:21:50.47\00:21:52.57
He'll take care
00:21:52.57\00:21:53.68
of your heart surgery.
00:21:53.68\00:21:54.71
So I prayed and I cried
00:21:54.71\00:21:56.64
out to God.
00:21:56.64\00:21:57.55
I said, "God, this is Your Word.
00:21:57.55\00:22:00.25
Give my grandma heart surgery
00:22:00.25\00:22:02.52
right now I ask in the mighty
00:22:02.52\00:22:03.99
name of Jesus, and remove
00:22:03.99\00:22:06.86
her heart of stone towards her
00:22:06.86\00:22:08.76
attacker.
00:22:08.76\00:22:09.92
Remove her bitterness and her
00:22:09.92\00:22:11.89
hatred towards the man who hurt
00:22:11.89\00:22:14.60
her in so many ways
00:22:14.60\00:22:16.03
and raped her.
00:22:16.03\00:22:17.20
And do this for the glory of
00:22:17.20\00:22:18.83
Christ in Her life,
00:22:18.83\00:22:20.80
in Jesus' name, amen."
00:22:20.80\00:22:22.90
And I can look you both in the
00:22:22.90\00:22:23.87
eye and say, because of the
00:22:23.87\00:22:25.31
glory of Jesus,
00:22:25.31\00:22:26.98
Jesus did hear
00:22:26.98\00:22:29.58
that prayer,
00:22:29.58\00:22:31.11
and He heard His Word
00:22:31.11\00:22:33.52
and He fulfilled it in my
00:22:33.52\00:22:35.02
grandma's life.
00:22:35.02\00:22:36.55
And her last, she still lived a
00:22:36.55\00:22:38.25
couple more years, and her last
00:22:38.25\00:22:40.46
few years were with freedom
00:22:40.46\00:22:43.19
before the Lord.
00:22:43.19\00:22:44.86
Why?
00:22:44.86\00:22:45.53
Because she was able to forgive
00:22:45.53\00:22:47.20
this impossible...
00:22:47.20\00:22:48.36
...situation and this man.
00:22:49.20\00:22:51.23
They did find the man, by the
00:22:51.23\00:22:52.20
way, dragged him into court and
00:22:52.20\00:22:53.44
asked my grandma to testify.
00:22:53.44\00:22:54.94
They said, "We'll only give you
00:22:54.94\00:22:55.94
just a moment."
00:22:55.94\00:22:56.60
They knew she was frail.
00:22:56.60\00:22:57.71
They didn't want her to be there
00:22:57.71\00:22:58.61
for hours and hours of
00:22:58.61\00:22:59.44
questioning.
00:22:59.44\00:23:00.51
They put her up in front of an
00:23:00.51\00:23:01.68
entire court and they said,
00:23:01.68\00:23:03.71
"Mrs. MacLafferty, we'll just
00:23:03.71\00:23:05.85
give you just two minutes.
00:23:05.85\00:23:07.68
This is your moment to say
00:23:07.68\00:23:08.65
something about your attacker."
00:23:08.65\00:23:10.62
And because of the grace and the
00:23:10.62\00:23:11.99
power of Jesus Christ, through
00:23:11.99\00:23:14.16
the Word of God and because God
00:23:14.16\00:23:16.89
had given her a heart surgery,
00:23:16.89\00:23:18.93
she looked out across the court
00:23:18.93\00:23:20.80
to this big, huge man
00:23:20.80\00:23:23.10
shackled and with guards
00:23:23.10\00:23:25.00
standing beside him, very
00:23:25.00\00:23:26.03
dangerous man, he had done this
00:23:26.03\00:23:27.27
to other women.
00:23:27.27\00:23:28.44
And she looked out across and
00:23:28.44\00:23:30.31
her little wavery voice had the
00:23:30.31\00:23:31.84
strength and power of God, and
00:23:31.84\00:23:33.34
she looked out and she said to
00:23:33.34\00:23:34.58
him, she said, "I say to you,
00:23:34.58\00:23:37.41
because of the love of Jesus,
00:23:37.41\00:23:39.78
I can tell you I forgive you
00:23:39.78\00:23:42.35
for what you did for me
00:23:42.35\00:23:44.05
and Jesus loves you
00:23:44.05\00:23:46.45
And I hope one day you'll know
00:23:46.45\00:23:48.59
this love for yourself."
00:23:48.59\00:23:50.23
[RENÉ] Wow, that's incredible.
00:23:51.96\00:23:53.86
[MIKE] God performed
00:23:53.86\00:23:55.36
heart surgery
00:23:55.36\00:23:56.56
on your grandmother
00:23:56.56\00:23:58.20
and set her free.
00:23:58.20\00:23:59.20
[DON] Yes.
00:23:59.20\00:24:00.14
[MIKE] And usually when we hold
00:24:00.70\00:24:01.97
onto this bitterness,
00:24:01.97\00:24:03.97
we think that
00:24:03.97\00:24:05.47
the more we hold onto it,
00:24:05.47\00:24:08.24
the better we will be.
00:24:08.24\00:24:09.71
And it makes us not better,
00:24:11.28\00:24:12.48
but bitter.
00:24:12.48\00:24:13.72
[DON] Yes.
00:24:13.72\00:24:14.88
[MIKE] And it just poisons
00:24:14.88\00:24:16.85
our lives.
00:24:16.85\00:24:18.39
Not the life of the other
00:24:18.39\00:24:19.49
person, but our lives.
00:24:19.49\00:24:21.72
[DON] Right.
00:24:21.72\00:24:22.62
[MIKE] And I thank you for
00:24:22.62\00:24:24.53
sharing that with us, because I
00:24:24.53\00:24:25.96
know that there
00:24:25.96\00:24:27.83
are people who have a hard time
00:24:27.83\00:24:29.70
forgiving and we all do.
00:24:29.70\00:24:32.13
This is impossible.
00:24:32.13\00:24:33.40
It's impossible, Jesus said, you
00:24:33.40\00:24:34.77
know, it's impossible to do
00:24:34.77\00:24:36.30
something...
00:24:36.30\00:24:37.11
And the disciples said,
00:24:37.11\00:24:38.57
"Increase our faith."
00:24:38.57\00:24:39.84
So we need an increase of faith
00:24:39.84\00:24:41.44
to be able to forgive.
00:24:41.44\00:24:43.45
[RENÉ] Do you know, Don, what
00:24:44.55\00:24:46.08
ever happened to that man?
00:24:46.08\00:24:48.08
To your grandmother's attacker?
00:24:48.08\00:24:50.65
>> He was put in prison and
00:24:50.65\00:24:53.56
that is where he still is today.
00:24:53.56\00:24:56.22
And just about a couple years
00:24:56.22\00:24:58.79
ago, I heard that he was trying
00:24:58.79\00:25:01.43
to get out, he was trying to
00:25:01.43\00:25:03.10
make his case to get out.
00:25:03.10\00:25:05.30
And all these things came back,
00:25:05.30\00:25:07.20
rushing back, you can imagine.
00:25:07.20\00:25:09.77
And I thought, "Oh, I can't
00:25:09.77\00:25:12.37
imagine him being free again
00:25:12.37\00:25:14.41
to be on the streets again."
00:25:14.41\00:25:17.05
And as I prayed about that, all
00:25:17.05\00:25:18.55
of a sudden I realized
00:25:18.55\00:25:21.05
that God had done a heart
00:25:21.05\00:25:22.92
change in me for sure,
00:25:22.92\00:25:25.35
because I found myself praying
00:25:25.35\00:25:27.39
not "God, keep him in there,"
00:25:27.39\00:25:30.13
but "God, do what would bring
00:25:30.13\00:25:32.59
salvation to this man.
00:25:32.59\00:25:34.36
If he'll find You better in
00:25:34.36\00:25:35.56
prison, then keep him in prison.
00:25:35.56\00:25:37.03
But, God, if he would find
00:25:37.03\00:25:38.40
Christ better by getting out and
00:25:38.40\00:25:40.90
being with his family, then
00:25:40.90\00:25:42.04
bring him out and help him to
00:25:42.04\00:25:43.64
get free again, but help him to
00:25:43.64\00:25:45.34
find his freedom in Christ."
00:25:45.34\00:25:47.34
And so that's not because I'm a
00:25:47.34\00:25:48.94
good forgiver, it's because God
00:25:48.94\00:25:51.08
has the power to help us
00:25:51.08\00:25:52.65
forgive.
00:25:52.65\00:25:53.95
>> So God kept Him in there
00:25:53.95\00:25:55.68
and God is still working on his
00:25:55.68\00:25:57.15
heart as He works on all of our
00:25:57.15\00:25:59.75
hearts every day.
00:25:59.75\00:26:01.09
So as we close up right now, I
00:26:01.09\00:26:03.12
wonder if you could pray,
00:26:03.12\00:26:04.56
pray for our viewers, pray for
00:26:04.56\00:26:06.06
ourselves, each one of us that
00:26:06.06\00:26:07.86
we can have a heart
00:26:07.86\00:26:09.66
that is free
00:26:09.66\00:26:11.13
from bitterness, from holding on
00:26:11.13\00:26:13.60
to these offences, from
00:26:13.60\00:26:15.27
un-forgiveness.
00:26:15.27\00:26:17.01
Could you do that right now?
00:26:17.01\00:26:18.21
[DON] Yes, let's pray.
00:26:18.21\00:26:19.54
Dear Father in heaven,
00:26:20.18\00:26:22.28
somewhere there is a viewer
00:26:22.28\00:26:24.81
who is struggling
00:26:24.81\00:26:27.55
to forgive.
00:26:27.55\00:26:29.08
For any viewer that just
00:26:29.08\00:26:31.99
holds their hand up to You
00:26:31.99\00:26:33.96
and says, "God, I am asking for
00:26:33.96\00:26:36.02
this heart surgery," would You
00:26:36.02\00:26:37.29
please give a heart surgery to
00:26:37.29\00:26:38.93
those requesting it right now?
00:26:38.93\00:26:41.76
Would You please cut out
00:26:41.76\00:26:44.00
what they have no power
00:26:44.00\00:26:45.43
to cut out?
00:26:45.43\00:26:46.07
Would You cut out hatred and
00:26:46.07\00:26:47.44
bitterness towards those who
00:26:47.44\00:26:49.04
have wronged them?
00:26:49.04\00:26:50.37
And would You also give them a
00:26:50.37\00:26:52.67
new heart,
00:26:52.67\00:26:54.08
a new spirit
00:26:54.08\00:26:55.81
and so that life can be like a
00:26:55.81\00:26:57.75
song lived out for Christ,
00:26:57.75\00:27:00.72
a song of freedom by the blood
00:27:00.72\00:27:02.92
of Jesus Christ and His power.
00:27:02.92\00:27:05.32
In Jesus name, amen.
00:27:05.32\00:27:06.45
[MIKE & RENÉ] Amen.
00:27:06.45\00:27:07.89
[gentle piano music playing]
00:27:07.89\00:27:10.69
>> Friends, our gift to you
00:27:10.69\00:27:12.33
today is Pastor Don
00:27:12.33\00:27:13.73
MacLafferty's book, God Still
00:27:13.73\00:27:15.80
Lives Even When You Wonder.
00:27:15.80\00:27:18.43
>> Don's true stories and
00:27:18.43\00:27:20.24
testimonies will encourage you
00:27:20.24\00:27:22.10
to trust God more fully
00:27:22.10\00:27:24.27
and completely.
00:27:24.27\00:27:25.81
>> We trust that our gift, Don
00:27:25.81\00:27:27.34
MacLafferty's book, God Still
00:27:27.34\00:27:29.51
Lives Even When You Wonder, will
00:27:29.51\00:27:31.61
inspire you to live by faith
00:27:31.61\00:27:33.88
and not by sight alone.
00:27:33.88\00:27:36.12
>> Before you go, we would also
00:27:37.69\00:27:39.59
like to thank all of you who
00:27:39.59\00:27:41.49
have supported the ministry of
00:27:41.49\00:27:43.02
It Is Written Canada, with your
00:27:43.02\00:27:45.53
prayers and financial
00:27:45.53\00:27:47.10
contributions.
00:27:47.10\00:27:48.63
Without your support, this
00:27:48.63\00:27:50.83
television ministry could not
00:27:50.83\00:27:52.60
have reached so many people for
00:27:52.60\00:27:55.30
so many decades.
00:27:55.30\00:27:56.57
>> Yes, thank you.
00:27:56.57\00:27:58.14
And we would also like to invite
00:27:58.14\00:27:59.81
you to follow us on Instagram
00:27:59.81\00:28:01.28
and Facebook and subscribe to
00:28:01.28\00:28:02.91
our YouTube channel and also
00:28:02.91\00:28:04.38
listen to our podcasts.
00:28:04.38\00:28:06.35
And if you go to our website,
00:28:06.35\00:28:07.88
you can see our latest programs.
00:28:07.88\00:28:09.98
>> You, too, can experience the
00:28:10.55\00:28:12.52
fullness of life found in the
00:28:12.52\00:28:14.16
words of Jesus when He said...
00:28:14.16\00:28:16.32
[gentle piano music playing]
00:28:26.80\00:28:30.01
¤¤
00:28:30.01\00:28:32.91