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"Forgiveness is the sweetest revenge." I saw this wonderful
old saying again in a book recently. It got me to thinking
about all the times that I have been able to forgive others
in my life and all the joy that it has brought me. One
memory stands out particularly well. I was a young boy
spending a week at 4-H camp during the Summer. I was having
a great time and enjoying everything about it except for
another young boy about my age. To say we didn’t get along
would be an understatement. We spent most of the week
irritating, insulting, and picking on each other. Words
finally came to blows on the next to last day of camp. We
got into a fist fight which I lost. Thankfully, older boys
broke it up before I was hurt too much. I spent the rest of
the day alone, sulking and stewing in my own anger.
The
next day my spirits were lifted, however, when my Mom
brought the boys in our cabin some of her delicious homemade
pizzas. I was enjoying a few slices of it when I saw the
other boy sitting by himself at the bottom of the steps
outside. He seemed very lonely right then. I am not sure
what moved me to do so, but I took my pizza down and shared
it with him. It made all the anger and pain inside me go
away. We became friends after that. I never got into another
fist fight either. I had found out that sharing and
forgiving were way more fun and a lot less painful.
Forgiveness truly is the sweetest revenge. It can turn an
enemy into a friend. It can free a heart from the chains of
anger, hatred, and pain. It can open a soul to the sweetness
of love and joy once again. It can help you to live by the
Golden Rule and to create a Golden Life. It can bring you
back to oneness with God in everything you think, feel, and
do. That is why I often pray, "God help me to forgive, help
me to give, and help me to love." May your life always be
full of sweet forgiveness then. May you always delight in
its Heavenly charms.
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