Root of Bitterness

by Kay Heitsch

Forgive right away before a root of bitterness can take root.

Several years ago, I was involved in a court case involving my neighbors. I won't go into all the details, but the wife had accused the husband of murder of their unborn child. When the facts came out, she had actually had an abortion in India.

It was a very emotional ordeal for several months, being played out in the newspaper to boot. Somehow, I was in the middle of the mess. The newspaper referred to me as "The neighbor," who was a witness for both sides.

I prayed and prayed about the situation. I didn't want to be in this, but I was. Of course, I had an idea of how it should work out.

However, it didn't turn out the way I thought it would. I was drained, upset, frustrated, exhausted, and started to get bitter. The bitter feeling was the worst. I could feel it actually growing. I became angry and even angry with God. Yep, I was mad at God!! Imagine that!

The bitterness kept growing, and I didn't stop in. Somehow I knew I should, but I felt justified in my anger.

One day I had enough of the bitterness and expressed to God my desire to let this go and move on with Him. I wish I could tell you it was better right then and there, but it wasn't. It was a process that took much longer than I thought it would.

I had to force myself to study the Bible and spend time with God. My desire to spend time with God was strong before this root of bitterness set in. Now I had to actually force myself. I remember going to church and sitting down. Before the service was over, I would get up and walk out. I took baby steps of forgiveness and moving on, but I did move forward with God's help.

I'm telling you this story, so if you ever get in a situation where you don't understand, and you need to forgive, just do it! Never allow the root of bitterness to start to take root. It's hard to uproot, but it can be done.

My mother-in-law said that when this situation was all over, both of these people would not like me. Well, that never happened. I'm still friends with both, they're divorced, and life went on.

Forgive right away, let go, and move forward with the Lord. You may not know why or ever understand, but that's okay. God does, and that's all that matters.

The Waving Walker

by Kay Heitsch

The following story was told to me by my friend Art Watts. This happened to him when he was about 17 years old.

Years ago, back in the middle 1970s, I used to see a young man about 16 years of age and a large dog walking along the road. When cars would pass him on the other side, he made eye contact and waved. I saw him almost daily, walking along the road waving at cars.

One rainy day I saw him and pulled over. I asked if he could use a ride. He said, "I'm not really going anywhere, just walking, thanks to the same, mister." I used to enjoy walks out in the countryside myself, so I thought it wasn't too odd. I told him if he ever needed a ride or help to flag me down, and I would do whatever I could. He thanked me and went on his way.

A few weeks later, I saw the boy walking; he didn't have his usual smile and was pacing that walking instead. He saw me and frantically flagged me down. As I got closer, I could see he was crying. I asked what was wrong. "My best friend just passed away. He was walking with me and just dropped; he's back by my house." He said through tears. I said, hop in, and I'll take you there.

The house was a small old farmhouse with a more extensive driveway. I saw a dead dog just outside the driveway. "There!! There he is, that's Randy!" He exclaimed. I checked the animal; he had been dead for some time. I told the kid his dog was gone, but he needed to keep him in his heart. We both cried. We took Randy to his house, made a marker, and buried him. I left feeling very blue.

After work that day, a friend came by. Odd coincidence, his female dog had a litter a couple of months ago. One of the pups named Randy, and he was the spitting image of old Randy himself. I explained the whole situation to my friend Jim. Jim said it was not a coincidence, and it was a sign. Jim said to take Randy to that boy and tell him to take care of him.

I took him up to the house. The boy must have spotted me driving up the long drive and went out to greet me. When I opened the door, little Randy came barreling out of the car. "Randy!! You came back to me!!" The boy said with tears of joy. Life goes on.

Door Bell

by Kay Heitsch

The doorbell rang.

My friend Jean* was recently told she had cancer. Even though she had been keeping a great attitude and was trusting God, she was still dealing with the effects of this horrible disease.

Now back to the doorbell. Jean's husband, Joe*, answered the door. He was surprised to see a man and a boy, he did not know, standing there. The man explained that he had actually lived in Jean and Joe's house as a boy years before. He was wondering if it would be possible to come in and show his son the house. Joe, being a friendly kind of guy, invited them in.

I'm sure it was evident that Jean wasn't in the best shape to this man, and somehow he was told of her condition. Much to Jean's delight, she found out that this man was actually the pastor of a large church in NYC. He prayed over Jean and invited her and Joe to his church. He told them they would be given the best seats in the house.

Jean told me the whole experience was like a dream. I don't know about you, but this story blessed me so much. It was remarkable that God sent this pastor and his son to visit Jean in her time of need. Jean tangibly felt God's love as this minister Let the SON Shine through him that day.

*names changed