FEBRUARY 27, Ephesians 4:31 

As Stephie opened her eyes one morning, she had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She felt anger rising within her as it did so often lately. Dad came home drunk again last night, she remembered, and he was yelling at Mom as usual. Stephie reluctantly sat up in bed. “I hate him,” she muttered. “Why does he have to drink?” As she tiptoed quietly out of her room and across the living room, she saw her dad, asleep on the couch. He’ll be there all day, she thought with disgust as she went into the kitchen. She found her mother there, peeling vegetables.

“Good morning,” Mother greeted her, smiling. “How did you sleep?”

“Oh... fair, I guess,” muttered Stephie. She shrugged, and her eyes filled with tears. “How do you stand it, Mom?” she blurted out angrily. “How can you stand the way Dad gets drunk?”

Mother thought quietly for a moment. “I used to be quite bitter about it, especially before I knew the Lord,” she admitted, “but the Lord has shown me that I need to forgive. The feelings of bitterness or resentment didn’t go away quickly, however, so I learned to deal with it one day at a time.” She picked up an onion. “If you would peel one layer at a time off an onion, some tears would come with each layer, but eventually there would be no more onion,” she said. “Dealing with bitterness is something like that. It takes daily prayer. It can take weeks, months, and sometimes years before it’s all gone – but you will see victory. You need to deal with bitterness one day at a time.”

“So you’re not really over it?” asked Stephie. Mother gave Sophie a hug. “Yes, honey. My ‘onion of bitterness’ is gone, but because your dad has not yet repented, I still need to forgive him each time he slips. Now, let’s pray together for Dad – most of all that he’ll one day accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. And let’s also pray we’ll be able to forgive him once again.”

Thought: Are you angry about things that are happening to you that you cannot change? If you really have an unreasonable parent – what would you do?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me not to harbour bitterness against people who hurt me. Help me to forgive them just as You have forgiven me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.