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Oct 3, 2007
I really like Auntie Anne's pretzels. Who knew that all of this time, they were helping Amish people get grief counseling. I found this article on Brandon Smith's blog (which you should check out the link on the left. Its about the Amish community of Nickel Mines, PA, and the shooting that happened at their school last year (in which 5 school girls were killed). The Amish, of course, are pacifists, and do not beleive in retaliation. Also, there is a big emphasis on forgiveness, and this article talks a lot about that. I think the lesson in this article is that forgiving is not the endpoint of healing, but here healing can begin. Holding grudges, while understandable and even natural, are not healthy. As Brandon points out, we often think that by witholding forgiveness, we are holding the other person in a "prison," when in reality we are the prisoner. The article then points out that it is a misconception that because they are at the point of forgiving that "all is well." I think that is because too often, we feel that we have to be at the "all well" point before we can forgive. And this is where the Auntie Anne's comes in. Jonas Beiler and his wife lost an infant child 30 years ago. At the time, they had no outlet for their grief. Their marraige hit a rough spot, and years later they finally went for counseling, something that was a rarity for the Amish community at that time. This inspired Jonas to go into counseling. However, as he began to study for and get started in counseling, he was unable to cover all of his expenses. So, his wife started selling Amish food at a farmer's market. Her soft pretzels were a huge hit, so hit that a nationwide chain was formed. Her name, of course, is Anne. So go to the mall and buy a pretzel. It's for a good cause. posted
by Unknown @ 12:23:00 PM |
