Harboring an offense…

Have you ever woken up feeling happy and ready to enjoy your day, only to get hit with an unexpected offense out of the blue? One of those things someone says or does that you were not expecting. Wham! It hits you right in that vulnerable spot that you didn’t think you still had.

As a Christian, God has done an incredible work in me. It’s taken 54 years, and there’s more work to do. No one will ever be perfect this side of Heaven. But, when I realize how much God has healed me of in my emotions and attitudes, I am SO grateful!

One of the crazy parts of what happens when we are offended is that it can be by the smallest thing. Satan comes at us and hits us in our most vulnerable spot. That one “word” spoken by someone, whether friend or foe, can turn into a festering boil inside of us.

Such was what happened to me this morning. This is going to sound silly, but it goes to show that no matter what is said or done, it can reach into us, and we find ourselves slipping from joy to mulling over an offense all day if we are not careful.

I recently made a purchase I probably shouldn’t have, on a whim. For that, I take full responsibility. But I decided to right the wrong of my spontaneous purchase and list it in the community Newsletter. Because of my love of writing, I wrote what I thought was a humorous ad that would at least bring a smile to someone’s face, even if they weren’t interested in buying the article.

I submitted it and waited in anticipation for the Newsletter to come as it does every Thursday morning. Well, here is where that sinister dart found its mark. The ad I wrote was NOT what they printed. They took my creative description and boiled it down to three lines. They might as well have said, “Dead cat for sale, call this number.” That was about as exciting, or should I say would have been more exciting.

They simply said what the item was, what I was hoping to sell it for, and a number to call. When I read it all, all I could think was, “Why?” Maybe they thought all the other descriptive additions were just for their information? Maybe they don’t consider the FOR SALE section of the Newsletter a place for anyone to display their sense of humor?

Needless to say, it stung! Now what am I supposed to do? Within a few minutes of waking up with joy and anticipation of my day with the Lord, I have now been offended, and it’s all I can think about.

Do I want to email this person and tell them exactly what they did? YES! Do I think I deserve to have my say in the matter? Yes! Will I send my poison-darted email to this person, thinking that I’ll get closure? NO! Most likely, it will cause me even more pain and humiliation when they repost my ad with their comments.

So I came here, to my safe place. But first went to the Lord asking HIM to help me forgive this person through whom the offense came. I don’t want to carry this in my heart. I rarely run into this person where I live, and don’t want the OLD Sue to rear her ugly head and be rude to them. The sad part is that the people who are doing the offending most of the time have no idea they have wounded someone.

We are told to forgive those who offend us. That’s not easy on your own. I know because for years I could dredge up offenses like a net full of fish! I can’t afford to let this continue today. As I have gotten older, the Holy Spirit has helped me let go of so many things because if I don’t, it breaks my fellowship with the Lord, and NOTHING is worth that!

My heart goes out to anyone reading this post who has been offended and has allowed it to turn into a painful, poisonous boil in their heart and mind. Please, if you know the Lord, ask Him to help you let it go. If you don’t know the Lord, then this is a good time to come to Him, and let His love and forgiveness bring salvation to your life. I can’t think of a better outcome for being offended than being turned into one of the most Glorious decisions in your life.

I bless you!