I’ve always been intrigued by this quote by Anne Frank. Astounded, really. 

A young girl whose life was destroyed by the Nazi Holocaust states that despite everything — despite losing her home, despite having to hide from people who want to kill her and her family, despite the fear of being caught and taken to a concentration camp (which was her ultimate fate) — she believes in the goodness of others.

For the record, I’m not debating the theological pros and cons of Anne Frank’s view. That is not the point of this blog post.

The point is Anne Frank choosing to see past the bad … the very, very bad that is happening all around her … and believe in the good. People are acting out hate in words and the most atrocious of deeds. And this young girl chooses to look for the good in people.

This, quite honestly, amazes me.

If we exchange the word “Holocaust” for the word “circumstances” — and I realize the idea sounds ludicrous — there is a lesson for each one of us in Anne Frank’s words. We all face circumstances in our lives where people wrong us. Where people hurt us. We can decide everyone will wrong us. That everyone will hurt us. Or we can choose, despite everything, to look for the good in people.

In Others’ Words: Who, through their words or actions, has shown you how people can be good to others? 

[ctt template=”8″ link=”G3sew” via=”yes” ]In Others\’ Words: Believing God When Times are Bad http://wp.me/p63waO-2rh #quotes #perspective [/ctt] [ctt template=”8″ link=”k7O2d” via=”yes” ]\”Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.\” http://wp.me/p63waO-2rh #quote #AnneFrank [/ctt]