By F. D. Adkins
She stands frozen with her eyes locked on the photo sitting on the mantle. The two little girls in the snapshot had been inseparable as children. She blinks away the tears.
“Celia, I don’t understand why you don’t just call her,” her husband, Tom, remarks as he steps through the arched doorway into the living room.
“I’m not calling her because she is the one who wants nothing to do with me.”
Tom shakes his head. “It’s been ten years. Do either of you even remember why you aren’t speaking to each other?”
“Apparently, I hurt her feelings when I didn’t ask her to be the maid of honor in our wedding.” Celia drops her gaze to the floor, and her shoulders slump. “I honestly don’t know why I didn’t. For some reason, I thought the maid of honor was supposed to be a close friend, not family. But Megan should have been my first choice. She wasn’t only my sister. She was my best friend.”
“It’s not past tense. Megan still is your sister.” He lets out a sigh as he falls down into the armchair in front of the fireplace.
“Well, it seems that she would beg to differ. My sister boycotts every family function that I attend. I’m fairly certain that she claims to be an only child.”
He rolls his eyes. “Again, don’t you think ten years is a bit too long for something so petty? You know Ephesians 4:26 says, ‘let not the sun go down upon your wrath’. Please call her before it’s too late.”
“Too late for what?” She narrows her eyes at him. “It’s been ten years.”
Her phone jingles in her pocket. She slides it out and lifts it to her ear. “Hey, Mom. What’s going on?… Megan’s been in a car accident….” Celia swallows hard as the phone trembles in her shaking hand. “Is she going to be alright?”
***
I’m sure you may be wondering why I would leave the above fictional story on a cliffhanger. My answer… I wanted to illustrate real life. My friends, we never know what the next second will hold, much less the next day. However, there is someone who does know, and that’s God. And what does God tell us… “…let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” (Ephesians 4:26 KJV)
I remember watching old television shows as a child where two families had feuded for so many generations that they didn’t even know why they were feuding. The reason for the argument never got passed down… only the anger.
This week, I read the story in John 8 about the woman who had committed adultery and the scribes and Pharisees brought her to Jesus. They asked Jesus, “Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?” (John 8:5 KJV). And of course, Jesus’ response was, “…He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (John 8:7 KJV).
Grudges and hurt feelings often destroy relationships and rip families apart. Sometimes it’s something minor, and sometimes it’s something major. But when God says, “let not the sun go down”, we shouldn’t harbor up the anger and let it build and go on and on. We need to try to fix those broken bonds immediately. I have seen family members lose so much time together, and isn’t that what the devil wants? John 10:10 KJV details that, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…” And when we let anger and grudges keep us from one another, the devil is stealing our time with them.
In today’s society, we have so many new ways to tear each other down. Social media allows people to hurt others and announce someone else’s shortfalls to the world. But as my father-in-law used to say, when you point your finger at someone else, three fingers are pointing back at you.
As Jesus reminded the scribes and Pharisees that no one is without sin, let us remember that if anyone was perfect and did not make mistakes, Jesus would not have had to die and suffer on the cross. I pray as we go into the New Year, that as a Christian family, we will not let the sun go down on our anger. I pray that we will treasure the time we have been given with those that we love and that instead of harboring grudges, we will be watching and preparing for the return of our Savior, showing and sharing His love with all those around us.
“Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” Matthew 24:44 KJV
