At around 9:15 a.m. that day, I felt a bit fatigued. Since I had risen earlier than usual, I reasoned that a catnap on my chair would revitalize me. So I leaned on the chair and closed my eyes.
Moments after sleep swept over me, I woke up and picked a pillow to cushion my head against the hardness of my chair. Adding the pillow made my slumber so delicious that I hopped into bed for a more restful sleep.
A few seconds after lying on my bed, I remembered the biblical warning against sleeping during the day. That made me get out of bed immediately.
I felt depressed for sleeping at daytime. It is the devil that had tempted me to sleep on my chair, and then brought on more temptations of adding a pillow and hopping into bed. What a wily creature he is!
That experience made me realize that, even with all the Bible study I have been doing, I am still a human capable of sinning. Truly, Mahatma Gandhi was right when he quipped:
It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.Realizing that I can sin made me conclude it was unwise of me to hate one of my brothers for speaking to me arrogantly mid last year. Let me spare you the details of what happened.
All I can tell you is that I came to hate that brother so much that I didn't want to be friendly to him. I wanted to yell at him and remind him of all the wrongs he did to me when we were growing up.
When he phoned me one night last month, I didn't spill out all the anger that had been boiling in my heart. But I bluntly told him that my trust and respect for him had been greatly diminished. I am sure I hurt him just like he hurt me when he spoke arrogantly to me mid last year.
Several days afterwards, I remembered another biblical warning that he who hates his brother is a murderer and will stumble without knowing why. The warning spurred me to forgive my brother.
On Christmas Day when we gathered for a family reunion, I spoke gently to the brother. He was also courteous to me. Sooner rather than later, the resentment I had harboured against him melted into compassion.
Interestingly, after the resentment died down, I began to heal in other ways. I started liking other people I loathed. What's more, the shame and guilt that sometimes overwhelmed me began to fade from my soul.
Perhaps it is that healing that has made me feel a sense of kinship with every person I have met in my hometown of Kiserian over the past one week during my morning walk. Believe me, I had avoided talking to some people.
The wounds that life challenges had inflicted on my soul are healing. I am now more forgiving of myself and others. Jesus has been molding me into His likeness after I accepted Him as my Savior mid last year when my brother hurt me. May His name be glorified!
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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on forgiveness and healing, you might also enjoy another one on "Healing of the Soul" which I wrote some time back. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.
