Thoughts for the Day
Mending Broken Relationships
  
“IF ONLY YOU HAD PAID ATTENTION TO MY COMMANDS, YOUR PEACE WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE A RIVER” (IS 48:18)
“LET NOT THE SUN GO DOWN ON YOUR WRATH (ANGER)"  (EPH 4:26)

I read a story about two women. They met in college. One was named Elizabeth and the other Barbara. They became the best of friends. One of Barbara”s great loves was daisies. So when she was engaged and about to be married, she and Elizabeth searched for dinnerware with that pattern. As her bridesmaid, Elizabeth carried a yellow and white bouquet down the church aisle and daisies graced each table at the reception. After college and marriage, the two women spoke daily. Then, unfortunately, their husbands had an argument. This drove a wedge between the two women. They stopped telephoning each other, stopped celebrating each others birthdays and suddenly their friendship ended. Now Elizabeth thought about calling Barbara to see if the wounds could be healed, but as we all do, she kept putting it off. Then through another friend Elizabeth learned that Barbara had died at the age 38. She was devastated and agonized over what had been left unspoken. She pondered to herself, “ Oh God, I will never forgive myself for not telling Barbara how sorry I am and how much I loved her.” She cried out in prayer and immediately she felt God directing her. So Elizabeth poured out her heart and spoke to Barbara the way they used to talk with one another. “ You were the best friend I ever had, I am so sorry.”   That night Elizabeth went to bed with a lighter heart, but still wishing she had reached out when Barbara could still respond. Amazingly, the next morning, in the corner of the yard, sprouting up from the freshly mowed lawn, was an  unexpected bouquet. It was a foot high clump of yellow and white daisies.

From Johnny:
This story parallels two of my own stories. One is of my wife Margaret and the other of my sister Susie. As for My Wife Margaret, the time was 1991. I spent a year in the penitentiary for robbery. During that year she abandoned me. I was devastated. How could she leave me after 12 years together. I was filled with unforgiveness and revenge. When I got out, all I could think of was how I could get her back. So I sought to re-establish the relationship that I might get my revenge I so wanted for her abandoning me. Then for 7 years I made that woman’s life miserable. How she put up with it I do not know. Then in 1998, I found myself doing 6 more months in the penitentiary for a crime that I did not commit. During those 6 months, Margaret proved to be the greatest wife that any man could ever want. I felt so ashamed of the way I had treated her for all those years, and she put up with it. When I came home, I vowed to show her how much I loved her and how much I appreciated her, and how sorry I was for my behavior. But alas, that was not to happen, for 60 days after I was released, Margaret passed away from a massive heart attack at the age of 40. So there I was;  never would I be able to tell her how sorry I truly was....... Never would I be able to beg her forgiveness for my behavior. But I cried out anyway, “Margaret please forgive me and I loved you with all my heart”. But it was not the same. Oh how I wished I could have done it when she could still respond. That brings me to the story of my sister Susie. In 1992, there was a situation that drove a wedge between us and for 7 years I held on to unforgiveness, for 7 years I would not even speak to my sister. At family gatherings we would walk past one another as if we were strangers. Until Thanksgiving of 1999 at a family gathering, when the thought of Margaret entered my mind and I remembered how I was not able to say I was sorry and that I loved her. And I thought about my sister, what if something happens to her and this thing between us is never settled? It was at that point, that I decided I can no longer continue in this fashion. I got up from the table and told my sister how much I loved her and how I did not want this bitterness to continue between us. Well I am very glad that I did because one year later, almost to the day, November 10, 2000, my sister Susie died of a massive heart attack at the age of 40. It hurt losing my sister but I felt at peace that I had mended the broken relationship. And so as the scripture reads at the beginning of this, "do not let the sun go down on your wrath or your anger"...... for you may find yourself regretting it.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT:
If you expect perfection from people, your whole life will be a series of disappointments, grumbling, and complaints. But if you see them as our Father in Heaven sees us, for it is written “He knows our frame and He knows that we are but dust”.... If you set your expectations a little lower, seeing people as the inefficient creatures which we all are, you may find yourself pleasantly surprised by seeing them perform better than you could have ever hoped for.