A Lesson From Alice by Rose McCormick Brandon

The front door squeaked open and a woman peaked into my office. "I've been walking past this church for months,” she said. “Today I decided to stop in and find out what goes on in here."

     That was my introduction to Alice. I asked if she’d like a tour of the building. We had no stained glass windows or anything else that would make people ooh and aah, but she seemed impressed by what she saw. I answered some of her questions and invited her to come to Sunday morning service. "I don't think I'm ready for that," she said. “I thought there might be something going on today."

      There was something going on. I told her about the ladies noon-hour prayer meeting due to start in a few minutes. A prayer meeting didn’t seem like the best way to introduce someone to church. As I contemplated whether I should invite her to join me, she invited herself. “I’m coming with you,” she said. 

  The next week Alice showed up and every week thereafter. In the beginning she didn’t talk much and when she did, she seemed prickly. As she became more relaxed with the ladies the prickliness diminished. She began keeping a diary of prayer requests. She always wanted to know if anyone had an answer to prayer to report. “If we ask God for stuff there should be answers. Right?”

     One day Alice dropped by the office. It wasn’t a prayer meeting day. Her smile and the glow on her face told me that she had something good to tell.  “I woke up this morning,” she said, “and the first thought that hit me was, ‘I don’t have anything against anybody. Nothing.’” She clapped her hands and laughed. “I thought about this one and that one, people I used to hate, and all the hate is gone.”          

      Alice said she hadn’t felt so free since she was a kid.                                           

    Alice’s words, nothing against anybody, found a home in my heart. I think of them often and remind myself that’s how God wants me to live. Living grudge-free is a worthy goal, a godly goal. If we let Him God fills our souls and minds with love, His love, a love that doesn’t gather grudges. 

     Everyone has reasons to hate, reasons to harbour grudges. It’s impossible to avoid people and situations that stir up the grudge in us. Living free in Christ Jesus means letting go of all bitterness, hatred, envy and fighting (Ephesians 4:31).                                                                          

       Sometimes it’s a struggle to let go of resentments, but if we take that struggle to Jesus and let His love flow through us, we too can live like Alice – with nothing against anybody. 

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Rose McCormick Brandon writes Bible lessons, devotionals, articles, biblical essays and books from her home in Caledonia, Ontario. She's the author of Promises of Home - Stories of Canada's British Home Children and One Good Word Makes all the Difference. She is a member of The Word Guild and grateful to be the recipient of awards for inspirational/devotional, personal experience and article writing.