Humility

I have recently listened to three Holocaust survivors speak. A US fighter pilot who was shot down, captured and sent to Buchenwald concentration camp. A Dutch woman who was a young child living in Indonesia and sent with her family to live in a Japanese concentration camp for four years. And a Hungarian woman who at the age of 21 was sent to live in Auschwitz and then to Buchenwald. Each of their stories are different but there is one thing that is strikingly similar in all of their lives. Humility. Everyone of these people were treated inhumanly. Their experiences were horrific. Each one is a victim but not one of them harbors ill feelings for those that so brutally abused them. They are grateful for life despite the bumps and bruises that continue to come along the way. They are humble. They are forgiving. What a great example they are to me. Each one of these survivors while experiencing the worst of this mortal world, found hope and even joy in their lives. I think that is what makes a true survivor, to humbly see beyond the hardships, the disappointments, and sorrows of today with hope of a better tomorrow.
 I am grateful to each of these survivors for sharing their stories with me, for I have learned from each of them how to be more like my Savior. To be more humble. To be more grateful. To be more joyful.