How you can make Peace

When I was about ten years old, I had an enemy. I didn’t know why she was my enemy, but she was.  She made fun of my clothes. My clothes were generally my aunt’s dresses which my mother made over for me. I knew they weren’t as nice as the other girl’s dresses but a preacher’s daughter couldn’t have new clothes in those days. Some pastors today are the richest people in town. I don’t understand that either.

This girl, her name was Donna, would try to destroy any papers that I was working on by marking them with a big black X, and I would have to do  the paper over again before it could be handed in. She tried to get the other girls against me, but, for the most part, I guess they knew her too. I always got better grades and I thought maybe that was why Donna was my enemy, but she didn’t care that much about grades so I was pretty sure that was not it.

In Sunday School one Sunday, I read: “If thine enemy hungers, feed him; if he thirsts, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head”. (Romans 12-20KJ) I didn’t want heaps of coals of fire heaped on her head but I got from that verse I should be kind to her even though she was not kind to me. But how could I do that? I wondered. I realized then that I was always shooting words back at anything she said!  I was as bad as she!

If I respond to her in anger, we will never have peace between us. However. if I continue to treat her with kindness and pray for her, I will find that peace will prevail. I was not a bit sure it would work like the Bible verse said, but I decided to give it a whirl anyhow. I started praying for her, Praying that she would be happy and find that friend that I had, Jesus. I treated her well too, doing little things for her and not answering when she said something nasty to me. One day she asked me if she could go with me to Sunday School! I, of course said yes.

We started going to Sunday School together regularly and she finally gave her life to Jesus. She even gave me two dresses that didn’t fit her anymore. I found that I was no longer only making  peace between us, but I was making a friend. Donna and I friends? Yes, we were truly that and much more. Why don’t you give that a try if you have a person who does mean things to you. It works! and it should,  because it came from God’s Holy Word. And His word is true!