“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you”  (Colossians 3:13, NIV).

              Malachy McCourt once said, “Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” Sadly, people who harbor grudges fail to recognize how much stress they bring upon themselves. The fact is that grudges punish the grudge bearer far more than the one who deserves the punishment.

“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit. ⁹ We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going” 1 Corinthians 4:8-9, TLB).

              I remember my first yo-yo. It was a vintage red Duncan Butterfly. I would spend hours practicing with my friends. I wasn’t very good but I did learn a few tricks, such as Rock the Cradle, Walk the Dog, and Around the World.

“Don’t long for “the good old days,” for you don’t know whether they were any better than these!” (Ecclesiastes 7:10, TLB).

            Several years ago, I had a conversation with an elderly member of my congregation. I asked, “Do  you miss the good, old days? I’m talking days without the hustle and hurry of life. Days when neighbors knew and cared about one another. Days when life was simpler.”