FROM TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
The Power of Forgiveness
MESSAGE OF THE MONTH - OCTOBER 2021
On October 1st, 2021 a new law came into force here in the UK. It’s called Natasha’s Law which requires retailers to display the full ingredients on food which is displayed ready to be purchased by customers that has been prepared in a factory, or packed by staff in a shop, café, restaurant, or any other food business. It is named after Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died of anaphylaxis after eating sesame in a baguette.
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In July 2016, 15-year-old Natasha was on her way with her father and best friend for a holiday in the South of France. Before catching the flight, she bought a sandwich from Pret A Manger at the airport. Because she had a food allergy she was always very careful about reading the ingredients before eating anything, but there was nothing on the label about sesame so she bought it and ate it.
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When they were in the air, Natasha began to have an allergic reaction and although she had medicine to combat such reactions, she got worse and worse, and by the time they touched down in France although a medical team was there ready to help her after they boarded the plane, she died.
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This story was widely reported in the Media and after her parents started to get over the shock, they began campaigning for proper labelling on food which again received a lot of coverage in the news but it has taken five years for the law to be changed.
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What a lot of people do not know is that Natasha was a Christian. Her best friend had taken her to church and Natasha’s mother also attended sometimes. Natasha’s father who is a millionaire businessman had always been too busy with his work to think about God but when they arrived in France, he had an amazing experience.
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As the medical team was attending to Natasha, he saw five angels hovering over her bathed in shimmering golden light – it was all he could see, everything else around him disappeared. He suddenly realised what was happening and said “No she’s not going to die.” He shushed them away and they disappeared – but Natasha was gone.
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Although this experience eventually became a great comfort to him and his wife – to know that Natasha is truly in heaven, in the following days, weeks, and months there were many conflicting emotions and even anger at God for allowing this to happen.
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Natasha’s mother was also angry with her husband, thinking that if she had been on the plane, she would have done something different and maybe her daughter would not have died. Natasha’s parents are now born-again Christians and have given their testimony on radio and television.
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The big turning point came for both of them when they were able to FORGIVE each other and even the people at Pret A Manger - because actually the company had been warned about the inadequate labelling before:
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In late 2015, another girl, 17-years-old collapsed and needed emergency medical care after a "life-threatening" reaction to sesame, which was present in a Pret product without suitable allergen labelling on the packaging. The girl's mother, a doctor, contacted Pret a Manger she cautioned them that "other serious adverse incidents could easily occur.”
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There was a court hearing about the case and at the end of it, Natasha’s father went over to the Chief Executive of the company, put his hand on him, and told him he did not blame him for what had happened to his daughter. This moved him very much.
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Since then, after tireless campaigning, triumph has come out of tragedy and I am writing this on the day that Natasha’s Law has come into force. As her parents say, they miss their daughter every day but they believe that she would be overjoyed that many others will be protected from what happened to her, happening to them.
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Natasha is in glory, her parents are giving the glory to God and already their testimony is touching the lives of thousands.
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Forgiveness is a Key of the Kingdom of Heaven.
​Even as Christians there are times when it is hard to forgive - but the way we forgive others is the key to being forgiven ourselves. (Matthew 6.12-15)
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Forgiveness is like a door – If we close the door of forgiveness on others, we close the door of forgiveness on ourselves - but if we open the door of forgiveness to others, we open the door to being forgiven and released ourselves.
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I like Catherine Marshall’s definition of forgiveness –
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“Forgiveness is releasing others from our own personal judgement.”
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In other words, forgiveness is letting go of our anger and judgement and leaving the judgement to God who is the righteous and just Judge.
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Forgiveness turns tragedy into triumph!
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