"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."
~ Joseph J. Mazzella ~
1 comment:
amen to that :)
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