Devotional 2-16-08

Giving Up
Lent is a time of year when Christians, in order to show their penitence for any wrong-doing, will give up something that they love to show their devotion to Jesus Christ. I’m not one who regularly takes part in the deprivation, but one year I decided to give up disliking one of my teaching colleagues.

The lady in question was one of “those teachers” who could not or would not control her students. They would roam the hallways where they would accost unsuspecting children and ruin the test scores for the rest of the school. Since I wasn’t the principal, it wasn’t my place to straighten her out, but that didn’t keep me from glaring at her every time I saw her. She knew that I disapproved of her teaching techniques, so she in turn disliked me.

As time went by, it was quite obvious that we were at war. During staff meetings I would sit on the opposite side of the room. If we were the only people in the hallway, we didn’t speak to one another. Ordinarily that would have bothered me because I really don’t look for conflict, but I just couldn’t seem to get over my anger.

Then the Lenten season came around, and I got the great idea that I would give up my anger and please God at the same time. I decided that I would bend over backward to be nice, even if it killed me.

The next day, when we passed in the hall, I called her by name and told her how much I liked her dress. She looked at me suspiciously. A few days later I stopped by her room to tell how nice her bulletin boards looked. She smiled and thanked me, but I knew she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Then she came by my room to give me a message from the principal’s office. While she was there, she shared a little gossip and we laughed conspiratorially.

You probably think that I’m going to tell you that we became best friends; I’m not. I will tell you that she and I did find common ground on many topics and were sincerely kind to one another for the remainder of our time together. Her students continued to roam the halls, and I’m sure I somehow offended her on a daily basis, but what started out as a contrived “giving up” became a bond between two headstrong women.

Since that time I have moved to another school and another staff. One day as I surfed the Internet, I ran across one of my favorite sayings. It has been attributed to many people, so I won’t pretend to know who really wrote it.

If you sow a thought, you’ll reap an act.
If you sow an act, you’ll reap a habit.
If you sow a habit, you’ll reap a character.
If you sow a character, you’ll reap a destiny.

During this Lenten season you don’t have to give up candy or pop, even though that might be a good idea. Try giving up the anger you hold inside. Try giving in to the will of Jesus Christ. Just give.

Becky Warren