May 16--Thank You?

True forgiveness is when you can say, "Thank you for that experience." 
--Oprah Winfrey

    "Ouch!" That's a lofty goal, in my opinion. My greatest challenging experience in life was the near-constant verbal abuse by my brother Ken. It's kinda tough to say "thank you" for that, BUT my life would be completely different had he not been around. Given that I pretty-much like where I'm at these days, I guess I could squeak out a little "thank you." 

    I was not happy with my mother dying when I was a young person of 23. It took a while for me to forgive her for that. This is an instance where I can truly say, "Thank you for that experience." Her early passing forced me to develop a level of independence that would have been most unlikely had she lived many more years. 

    I bless those times where it is simply too much bother to hang onto grudges and resentments. 

        Leta

One of many adorable logos
at Hopping Gnome Brewery,
Wichita, Kansas