β€œUh, oh, look here.” Husband Cliff was perusing local news online in our city newspaper. β€œHere’s a photo of Kitty and Karl Ellison’s house. A big, old live oak fell on their roof yesterday!” I shivered as I glanced at the disturbing sight. Seconds later, I felt a different emotion. Though the nasty news made me feel sorry for the Ellisons, who had just remodeled their home, it also dredged up a grudge I had held against Kitty for over a year now.

 

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Earlier, Kitty was in a position to weigh in on the decision to have Cliff present one of his art & music themes to an organization she was part of. She nixed the idea at a time when the booking would have been most welcome. Ever since, when I saw her socially I felt the sting of the offense. Whatever the excuse may have been: β€œNo money in the budget” . . . β€œWe don’t want to ask attendees for a donation” . . . had sounded lame to me. In short, her decision registered in my heart and mind like a sharp jab.

But a tree had fallen on their house! The horrible event could have made me think, β€œServes her right,” she is not a charitable person anyway. But instead, I felt sympathy. A few years earlier, a tree had fallen neatly beside our house, very little damage done. From the looks of things, the Ellisons would have to move out of their house now, live in a hotel for a while, and petition for the insurance company to cover the huge damages. Now it was my turn for an β€œUh, oh!”

My β€œUh, oh” was followed by a change of heart. Instead of feeling secretly happy at the Ellisons’ bad luck, I wrote a check and sent it to them with a note. It’s wasn’t a large check, but it was an acknowledgement of my empathizing with their situation. As the envelope with the check sailed off through the mail, I felt relief, a huge burden of un-forgiveness lifted.

In return, Kitty sent me a Thank You note, which Iβ€˜ve held onto:

 

In retrospect, I am certain the slight I felt was not intentional. And I should not have taken Kitty’s decision personally.

What others say or do often has nothing at all to do with us.

* Names and certain details have been changed.

 

* * *

β€œYou will find that it is necessary to let things go; simply for the reason that they are heavy. So let them go, let go of them. I tie no weights to my ankles.”
― C. JoyBell C.

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was me.”Β  ~ Lewis B. Smedes

β€œLove your enemies! Do good to them. . . . Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as sons of God: for he is kind to the unthankful and to those who are very wicked.”Β  Β  Β  Luke 6:35, The Living Bible

 

 

 


Can you identify in any way with my story?

How do you handle slights and offenses?