Rudolph had every reason to nurse a grudge.
The teasing and rejection weren’t just minor slights—they were relentless. His bright red nose, his gift, became the thing that made him the target of mockery and exclusion. The other reindeer made sure he knew he wasn’t one of them.
And yet, when the moment came, when Santa needed him, Rudolph didn’t hesitate. He didn’t carry the bitterness of past hurts or hold on to the rejection like a badge of honor.
Instead, he forgave.
He showed up.
He became the light that Santa and the others desperately needed to navigate the storm.
So, here’s a question for us: What kind of nurse are you?
Are you a nurse who carefully tends to grudges, checking on them regularly to make sure they’re still healthy and growing? Replaying the old hurts, feeding the pain and resentment?
Or are you the kind of nurse who releases the grudge, choosing instead to heal, to let go, and to move forward?
Forgiveness isn’t about dismissing the hurt or pretending it didn’t matter.
It’s about refusing to let that pain control you.
It’s about choosing freedom over resentment, light over darkness.
There’s wisdom in the words of Mahatma Gandhi:
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
Rudolph could have stayed in the bitterness of his hurt, refusing to help those who had excluded him. But he didn’t. He stepped into the storm, not with a grudge but with grace. His light, mocked for so long, became the very thing that saved the day.
Jesus calls us to do the same with our light. In Matthew 5:16, He says:
“Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Your light can’t shine when it’s hidden behind the shadows of bitterness and hurt.
Forgiveness clears the way for your purpose to shine through.
It allows you to step into the storm with grace, reflecting the light of Christ for others to see.
So, what kind of nurse will you be? Will you keep nursing those grudges, feeding them with your energy and attention? Or will you let them go, allowing healing to take place and making room for God’s light to shine through you?
As the author Lewis B. Smedes wrote:
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”
Rudolph’s nose didn’t stop glowing because of the mockery. If anything, it shone brighter in the face of adversity. Forgiveness does the same for us—it makes our light undeniable.
Prayer:
God of healing,
Help us release the grudges we’ve been nursing. Teach us to forgive as You have forgiven us. May we shine brightly, unburdened by resentment, and reflect Your grace and love in the storms of life. Thank You for showing us how to live with light and purpose, even when it’s hard.
Amen.