By Wane A. Hailes
Who would you spend your time with? Who have you lifted up? Who have you made better? Who would you forgive? These past weeks have been a wake-up call for me—a reminder that everything is finite and nothing, absolutely nothing, lasts forever.
There was a time when I took life for granted, but to be honest, I pause every morning and thank the Lord for what He has done for me. Getting older has that effect on you. When you realize that you may have more years behind you than in front of you, material things become less important. After all, when was the last time you saw a U-Haul being towed by a hearse?
So many of us go through life holding grudges against people for so long that nine times out of ten, we’ve forgotten why we were upset with them in the first place. One thing I know is that life is too short to worry about trivial stuff, and guess what? It’s all trivial stuff. People go to bed and wake up every day angry, disappointed, resentful, and envious instead of appreciating how blessed they are to be alive.
I’m reminded of a teacher who once told each of her students to bring a clear plastic bag and a sack of potatoes to school. She instructed them, that for every person they refuse to forgive in their life’s experience, they chose a potato, wrote on it the name and date, and put it in the plastic bag.
Some of their bags were quite heavy.
They were then told to carry this bag with them everywhere for one week, putting it beside their bed at night, on the car seat when driving, next to their desk at work.
The hassle of lugging this around with them made it clear what a weight they were carrying spiritually, and how they had to pay attention to it all the time so as not to forget it and keep leaving it in embarrassing places.
Naturally, the condition of the potatoes deteriorated to a nasty, smelly slime. This was a great metaphor for the price we pay for holding on to our pain and heavy negativity!
Too often, we think of forgiveness as a gift to another person, and it clearly is for us!
I ask you again: what would you do if you knew you only had seven days to live? Who would you spend your time with? Who have you lifted up? Who have you made better? Who would you forgive?
It’s time to let it go! Life is too short! And you really don’t know how many days you have left.
——