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Another
Testimony :
Sandy
MacGregor
forgave the
unforgivable
- the
murderer of
his 3
daughters -
face-to-face.
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Forgiveness
is :
"Not
for
the
murderers
sake
but
for
my
own".
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And the
Story
begins...
On 23rd
January 1987
Sandy's life
was a happy
one. He was
the father
of 6
children, a
Civil
Engineer and
a retired
Army
Colonel,
having been
to the
Vietnam War
(working
with US
forces -
173rd
Airborne
Brigade) and
being
decorated
with the
Military
Cross and
the American
Bronze Star,
for bravery
in tunnel
conflicts.
And then
tragedy
struck in a
seemingly
senseless
way. His 3
daughters
were gunned
down and
killed in
their Sydney
home by an
intruder. He
went to the
brink of
mental
devastation.
In this way
he
saved his
life from
becoming one
of hatred
and
self-pity.
He was able
to come to
terms with
the death of
his three
daughters.
It has been
an ongoing
process of
forgiveness
for him,
culminating,
after 14
years, in
having a
face-to-face
meeting with
the murderer
of his
daughters in
February
2001.
He started
investigating
this area in
1981 when
his eldest
son Andrew
used it to
control
asthma and
then to save
his badly
broken leg
from
amputation.
Before the
tragedy,
being a
"prove-it-to-me"
sort of
person, he
proved that
the
technique
worked for
him by using
it to
release 49
pounds (22
kgs) of
weight.
Sandy says
that "As
well as
Forgiveness
(and Weight
Release),
there is a
multitude of
issues
people can
work with by
using these
techniques,
including
sporting
ability,
improved
learning,
self esteem,
handling
fears, pain
release,
healing and
letting go
anger."
After the
tragedy he
went on to
develop and
teach others
how to use
their own
inner
strength and
apply it to
many areas
of life.
Indeed, he
felt as
though it
was almost
his
"responsibility"
to do so.
Sandy's
14 year
Journey of
Forgiveness
After the
tragedy
Sandy went
through a
turbulent
time with
all-consuming
thoughts of
hatred,
anger and
revenge.
On
recognizing,
during
meditation,
that these
thoughts
would only
bring
bitterness,
hostility
and sickness
and indeed
make him
another
victim of
the tragedy,
This was
Sandy's
first
stage of
forgiveness
and it
happened
approximately
six months
after his
daughters
were
murdered.
The
second
stage
was when he
was
interviewed
on
Australian
National ABC
Radio four
years later.
This was his
first ever
radio
interview
and he was
asked: "Have
you forgiven
Richard
Maddrell?"
His answer
was "Yes, I
have" and
yet his
internal
thoughts
were
vibrating
with "What
will people
think of
that - will
they think I
am mad or
something?
How could he
possibly do
it?"
Sandy's
third stage
of
forgiveness
was when he
wrote about
the process
in his
second book:
"Switch On
to Your
Inner
Strength"
and his
fifth book:
"Creating
Happiness
Intentionally"
- really
declaring
his position
and where he
was coming
from.
His
fourth
and final
stage,
which really
amounts to a
14 year
journey, was
when he
attended a
Conferencing
Program with
the
perpetrator,
under the
auspices of
the
Correctional
Services, in
Grafton Jail
in February
2001.
-
He did
the
seemingly
impossible
- some
people
say he
forgave
the
unforgivable.
-
Sandy
says "In
a
face-to-face
meeting,
I went
through
my
forgiveness
process,
ensuring
that
Richard
Maddrell
understood
the
process,
and
unconditionally
forgave
Richard
Maddrell
for the
murder
of
Jenny,
Kirsty
and
Lexie.
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"I
experienced
a
feeling
of
freedom,
liberation,
and
a
sense
of
lightness
and
felt
as
though
a
weight
had
been
lifted
from
my
shoulders.
I
would
never
again
wonder
how
I
would
react
if
confronted
by
the
murderer
of
my
daughters."
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Sandy wants people to understand what he means by forgiveness. He does not condone the action.
Neither does he resent Richard Maddrell and he has no hatred, bitterness or hostility towards him - if he has any feeling towards him, it is one of compassion.
Sandy says "By forgiving him, people may think that I 'pardon' him and that perhaps by this I mean that Richard Maddrell should be free, however this is not the case.
I think that Richard Maddrell, should be in jail for life, principally for the protection of the community.
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If Richard Maddrell is freed, I could handle it - this is Man's Law.
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What I do is far deeper - involving spirituality - it's between me and God."
Nothing is Too Difficult for HIM! |
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