Win against the Greater Demon of Hate

Forgiveness, in two stories below, isn’t weakness. It’s how hatred is disarmed. It’s the quiet, defiant act that turns suffering into peace.

1. Ruby Bridges — The Child Who Prayed for Her Enemies

At just six years old, Ruby Bridges became the first African American child to attend an all-white elementary school in Louisiana. Every day, angry mobs screamed insults and threats at her as she walked to class, escorted by federal marshals. A psychologist, Dr. Robert Coles, met with Ruby and once asked if she ever spoke to the protesters. She replied gently, “No, I didn’t talk to them. I was talking to God.”

Ruby explained that each day she prayed, “Please, God, try to forgive these people. Because even if they say those bad things, they don’t know what they’re doing.”

Even as a child, she chose prayer over anger — compassion over fear — proving that forgiveness can protect the heart from hatred.

2. Gordon Wilson — The Father Who Forgave the Killers

Decades later, in 1987, a terrorist bombing in Northern Ireland killed Gordon Wilson’s daughter, Marie. As rescuers pulled him from the rubble, his first words were not of revenge but of grace: “I bear no ill will. Dirty sort of talk is not going to bring her back.”

His public forgiveness stunned the world and softened hardened hearts. It became a moment of healing that reached far beyond his own grief.

Lesson

Both Ruby and Gordon faced hate that could have easily consumed them. Instead, they answered it with forgiveness — not because their pain was small, but because their love was stronger.