This blog is dedicated to my sons Phil and Scott who were strong in recent months when it would have been so easy to be angry. They did the only thing they could... hold their wives close and try to dry their tears.
Sweet Tea
Place 10 tea bags in quart of water. Bring to a boil. Take off the stove and let steep for 5-10 mins. Remove tea bags and place in gallon container. Add ice and water to fill container. Add sugar or favorite sweetener and lemon if desired.
That sounds so simple. A speaker in a seminar a few years ago said "Americans are crazy... they boil water to make tea hot then add ice to make it cold. They then add sugar to make it sweet then lemon to make it sour". When you look at it that way.. it does sound crazy but it is the way we are.
In Ephesians 4:32 we are instructed to "be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you". That sounds so simple. We have all made mistakes in our life and asked God to forgive us but sometimes we want to have the last word... and is not a very kind word when we say it.
When I was in first grade in school my mother brushed my curly hair into Shirley Temple curls. To adults I was cute... to other children, I was "different" and they teased me about that. By the time I was in fourth grade I had no idea what to do with the curls and I was teased even more. One day a little boy who had teased me the day before came to me and told me "what I did was wrong yesterday. Others teased you and I took part in that. Can you forgive me?" If this was a "made for TV" story I would have said "yes" and we would have been best friends forever but that is not what I did. I said "No you are only doing this because the teacher told you to." He tried but could not convince me otherwise. He walked away and I saw the teacher trying to console a very upset little boy. I knew at that moment his apology was sincere but pride kept me from going to him and accepting his apology.
Now if this were a made for TV movie, he would have grown up to be an axe murderer or we would have met as adults and talked about that day again. Neither happened. He grew up to be a respected attorney. We never had another conversation and we never had another class together. Sometimes you only get one chance to do the right thing. He tried to and what I did was worse than what he did by teasing me. I do remember he never joined the other children again who teased me but I missed my chance to give something very valuable... forgiveness.
In the recent months I have seen so much sorrow between people that I care about. Richard had tremendous courage when he came to me and tried to take responsibility for what he thought was wrong. Sometimes when we do something that hurts another, we try to make it right. When others are willing to forgive and we both grow from it but sometimes that does not happen. If you have hurt someone... say you are sorry and if they choose not to forgive you pray for God to help you with your weaknesses so you will not hurt them or others. If someone hurt you... don't wait for them to say they are sorry to forgive them. It will make you stronger and release you from the chains that anchor you to your pain.
Psalms 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord my strength and my Redeemer.
Love,
Nana
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