Sand or Stone

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you."
-- Lewis B. Smedes

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There is a story about two friends, named Steven and Saul. One day, they were walking through the desert and an argument ensued. The argument became so heated that Steven slapped Saul in the face. Without saying another word, Saul bent down and wrote in the sand, “Today my best friend slapped me in the face.”

The two continued their walk until they came upon an oasis. Deciding to take a swim, Saul found himself caught up in the mire and started to drown. Steven raced over to Saul, pulled him from the mire, and saved his life. After recovering from the near drowning experience, Saul found a large stone and wrote upon it, “Today my best friend saved my life.”

Steven, being perplexed, asked Saul, “After I hurt you earlier today, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?"

Saul responded, "When we have been hurt by someone it should be written in the sand where the winds of forgiveness will blow and erase it away. But, when someone has done good favor for us, we should engrave it upon a stone where it shall remain forever.”

How about you, when you have been hurt, do you write the hurt in the sand or on upon a stone? When someone does something nice for you, do you write the good deed upon a stone or in the sand? Far too many do the opposite of Saul’s lesson. They quickly forget the good; yet, hold onto the hurt for a lifetime.

When you hold onto the hurt, you are not in a position to grow. Holding on is the opposite of letting go. You can not change or grow if you’re intent upon staying the same; intent upon holding on. Real healing and growth can only take place when you let go. Holding on is self-sabotaging behavior. It ensures that the hurt keeps hurting and only serves to perpetuate bitterness, anger and /or depression.

Sure, bad things happen and you may have been the victim of someone’s anger, rudeness, insensitivity, or cruelty. They made you a victim by there actions, but you have kept yourself a victim by engraving the hurt upon stones and carry the stones around with you. Some of us are carrying around so many stones that it becomes difficult to function on a daily basis. Remember, the hurtful stones will continue to keep us in the past and and living in hurtful past is like a thief; robbing us of the present and stealing away our future.

Today is the day to begin casting away the hurtful stones of the past. You are not ready to cast until you are ready to forgive. Don’t let the stones serve as a reminder of the past any longer. The “Good Book” tells us “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32).

I ask you to be committed to writing your hurts in the sand and good deeds done unto you upon the stones! Mahatma Gandhi reminds us, “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.”

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It is your life: Live it, Love it & Celebrate it!
MJD