My twin sister has always- and I believe will always, repeat the same story to me and others, that was inspiring to her. That story is this…
As a teen, I took the bus to and from high school, paying $50 for a bus pass every month in order to do so. My family was far from well off at this point. We were still international students living in Canada and my mom didn’t even have a proper job in her field of work.
I sacrificed that monthly amount of $50 to attend a performing arts high school that had more to offer than the school 5 mins away from our home. Not to mention the summer before starting high school, I walked by this particular high school that was close to home and bumped in to a large group of rough looking kids who invited me to join their gang… So of course I felt pretty good about the decision to attend school further away from home.
One day while on that long bus ride home, I did something only a tired scatterbrained teenager would do. I forgot my entire wallet on the seat as I got off the bus.
The moment I realized what I had done, I made so many phone calls until I found out someone had turned it in. I was relieved! Especially because this was the start of the month. I had only just bought my bus pass and hardly used it.
When I got to the bus station head office and grabbed my wallet, I found everything there. Five dollars in change, my bank card (which I cancelled over the phone), all of my IDs- all except my $50 bus pass.
I took a deep breath and said, “Well I hope who ever took my bus pass needed it. So God bless them!”
My sister was standing beside me when she heard these words and her jaw was just about on the ground.
It’s a story she tells everyone to this day. She even reminds me of this story constantly.
When I look back at that moment when I realized my bus pass was stolen, (and believed said thief could have even been the one that turned it in), I know I would have had every right to be angry at the mystery thief.
I mean, if this was a friend of mine, I would say this friend has every right to be angry! Go ahead! I’ll even join you!
But something pretty amazing happened when I decided not to. When I decided to wish that thief well. I moved on. There was no hurt. No pain. No time spent enacting a vicious plan that could never really play out. I even managed to get a hold of some extra money to get another bus pass. And when purchasing this new bus pass, I said a prayer for my friend the thief.
I prayed they’d get good use out of the bus pass and maybe one day, they’d pay it forward.
Some could call me a sucker. But that moment that I chose to bless someone who “cursed” me, impacted my life, my twin sister’s life and the lives of everyone that’s heard this story.
It’s caused me to give everyone second chances. It’s caused me to see the human being behind the bad deed. Not just the bad deed. It’s taken the control away from the “important” objects in my life.
Do you know how hard it is to hold a grudge against some one? It’s very hard! You have to spend all that time thinking about them. So much wasted time feeling angry and hurt. And that actually takes away from our lives.
It can cause us to be angry at the ones we love. Especially when the one that hurt us is not in the room or even in our lives. It can cause us to have poor health. Stress kills! It can literally stop us from moving forward in our lives.
Is it worth it?
To this very day I still have people in my life who hurt me without just cause. But I love giving my battles to Jesus Christ. Letting Him defend me. I mean, you can get me angry and there’s not a whole lot I can do about it. But if you upset the creator of this world … Well, I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes. He’s guaranteed to find you.
So my question for you is… Who’s fighting your battles? Are you fighting them inside of yourself? Are you fighting with your self? What would it look like for you to wish someone well, when they don’t deserve it?
