You're going where?

"Unforgiveness is like taking poison and

waiting for the other person to die."

Jorge, "Transcended Dude"

Greetings!

The other day I asked a friend of mine if he and his family were going anywhere for Christmas. He rolled his eyes and said "the in-laws." I've met your Mother in law and she is a delightful lady, What's the problem? "Well it's not her it's my wife's brother. He still lives with his Mother and he and my wife had a major falling out a few years back."

          He went on to describe all the hurtful dialog that had taken place and said they had not spoken in years. The only reason they agreed to the visit was because his Mother in law had not seen her Grandchildren in quite a while and travel was difficult for her.

          I told him, Bill (not his real name) you know you and Sally are going to have to forgive him and ask his forgiveness don't you? He erupted, "he's the one who started this" and he went on to rehash the tale. He finally agreed that forgiveness was the right course but that he just wasn't sure how they were going to go about it. It had become easier to hang onto the anger and avoid the situation. I reminded him that it wasn't easier for all the people caught in the middle like his Mother in law and his children who were wondering why they couldn't speak to their uncle. The truth is that it is not easier for anyone to hold onto caustic unforgiveness.

         You're probably thinking about now, "nice Christmas story Don what's the point." You may even be thinking, "this story hits a little to close to home." Well, you see, Christmas is the point.

          Whether you are a Christian or not you need to know that the story of Christmas is the story of God's forgiveness for the world. "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son..." John 3:16 Jesus said of the Roman soldiers while hanging on the cross, "Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing..." Luke 23:34 The Bible is replete with stories of forgiveness from the beginning to the end.

          Here's the irony, the world says just the opposite. "Don't get mad, get even", "Do unto others before they do unto you". There is a prevailing attitude in the world that forgiveness is weakness.

          Dear friend, just like Jorge's quote above, unforgiveness is a poison that will continue its destructive effects on the very fabric of your being until you deal with it. What better time to do that than Christmas?

          My wife Caroline wrote a wonderful "Christmas perspective" the other day and I would like to share it with you. As always I would love to hear from you regarding anything on your heart.
Just click on Caroline's "Christmas Perspective"

I love you guys,

God bless,
Don

Enjoy this great little movie, "A solitary life"

Thank you to everyone who bought Christmas ornaments this year. They are a wonderful reminder to me of the spirit of Christmas and I love making them.
donsgym@gmail.com