A Gift a Day

After months of increased fighting with a friend, I had finally hit my wall. I could see no way to repair the situation. I had done everything I could think of and was out of options. I sat in my front yard in prayer and sighed heavily in the moonlight.

Then a Scripture came to my mind: “Bless your enemies and do good to those who hate you.” While the idea was almost a bit infuriating at first, I had a quick and subtle resolve to do so. For the next week I would send anonymous gifts to them and make the last gift a picture of us as the grand reveal.

I didn’t expect this process to have any effect on me, but seeing my friend rejoice online about these surprises began to lighten my load. And trying to find gifts that might be meaningful to them caused me to think of them in a positive and thoughtful light. Throughout that week, my icy heart would thaw more and more.

As it ends up, loving our enemies isn’t just healing for them—it’s healing for us. It causes us to see people as Jesus would and it crucifies our vision. There’s no promise that our enemies will come around, but our forgiveness and love in light of great angst will free us from our pain in the most unexpected ways.

*This devotional was created out of the themes of Luke 6:27-38 found in today’s reading at CommonPrayer.net.