Learning.

Sometimes I get my Irish up. When people do foolish things and get others really ticked off with them, I'm right in there too....being ticked off.

The story goes like this.

One fellow was really nice and brought enough sweet things for everyone to enjoy because he was leaving for lands far off to the north country for a couple of months. He wanted to let everyone know that they would be missed. I figured that was pretty nice of him to do that. He left them all in two boxes in a nice and convenient place for everyone to help themselves.

Another fellow had several out-of-town guests in for a meeting. He figured he'd take one box of those sweets into his meeting and he did just that.

Ya, that's when I got my Irish up and told the fellow he should put those sweets back because they were purchased for the people who worked here and not for the people in his meeting. He put them back and then went about and asked his out-of-town guests to help themselves to sweets over in the nice convenient area.....which they did.

I was really ticked off about that. In fact, I was ticked off all evening too.

In the morning when I woke up, I thought about what I had done....not what the fellow had done but what I had done. I felt badly that I had been angry. They weren't MY sweets after all.

The fellow I had been angry at, came by and asked if I was angry with him. I said "No". If I was mad....I said "No". If I was disappointed with him. I said "yes". I was. He apologized for what he'd done. I forgave him. Actually I forgave him when I woke up that morning. I figured I had done much worse than he had done many times in my life and people found it in their hearts to show me grace. Why shouldn't I be doing the same with him? And so I did.

We talked. We forgave.

Isn't that what community is all about. Learning to speak in love. Learning to show grace. Learning how to forgive. Learning how to be truthful with one another.......talking it out until we come to an understanding. (And this didn't even happen in a church setting!!!)

Notice I did say "learning". I never cease to amaze myself at just how little I have learned.

There's always tomorrow.