I read this yesterday and it really spoke to me in regards to some things I've been going through. Very poignant and timely!
NAILS IN THE FENCE
There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him
a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must
hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had
driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned
to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually
dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to
drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He
told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out
one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.
The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father
that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led
him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the
holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say
things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put
a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you
say I'm sorry, the wound is still there."
A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one
You can't hurt someone, tear them apart and say you love them all at the same time. The only parallel I can draw to this is the fact that people get off on insanity pleas doing the same thing. It just makes no sense.
My bible verse yesterday was
"And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."
1 John 4:21
Love is a multi-faceted word and right now I just have to take peace and know there are times when you have to "love" at a distance. I am at peace in that God has not called us to be victims and forgiveness does not have to mean fellowship. People forgive murderers but it doesn't mean they have them over for birthday dinners. Forgiveness is an act of the heart and mind. Fellowship is a physical act, unrequired for Forgiveness.
