ave
you ever had someone do something bad to you and you just didn’t want to
forgive them? Every time you think about it you get mad all over again? Well I
would like to tell you a story about Kenny and how he handled this problem.
There was once a boy named Kenny who had a best friend name
Warren. Now Kenny and Warren where always together. If one of them got into
trouble you would be sure to find the other one close by. They spent as much
time together as they could. They would even nag their mommies to sleep at
each other’s houses as often as they could. They even went to the same
Pre-School (Crèche)! And this is where our story begins!
You see, like I said, Kenny and Warren did everything
together. They were so close, sometimes people would asked them if they were
brothers! One day as Kenny and Warren sat at their usual table, one of the
teachers told the children that there was a new swing for them to play with.
Well Kenny and Warren just knew they had to be the first
ones to try out the new swing! They had to be the ones that would learn how to
use it before any of the other children did. As they ran outside they could
not see it straight away. It was by the tree house and they knew the tree
house very well. It was the one place they used all the time, to get away from
the girls! One time when the girls tried to put makeup on all the boys, it was
Kenny and Warren who were the only ones that got away from them!
So off they went, and yup you guessed it. They were one of
the first kids to get there. Well Kenny and Warren watched as the other
children swung out on the new swing. It was the kind they used in the circus,
the one they use for the trapeze artists. Well some of the children swung out
and came back to the tree house and then there where others that would let go
and drop to the floor. Soon it was Kenny’s turn and he was just getting
ready to let go with one of the biggest leaps he had ever done! Then all of a
suddenly there was a mighty push from behind him! And do you know what
happened next? Well Kenny got the biggest fright of his life and went sailing
off the landing and over the edge of the tree house. He tried to hold on to
the swing as best he could, but I am afraid to say he couldn’t. As his hands
slipped off the swing and all he could see as he looked up was Warren standing
there with a very guilty look on his face.
Now as Kenny fell to the ground all he could do was put his
arm out to break his fall, and you guessed it! As he hit the ground there came
a funny sound and a lot of pain. No, Kenny didn’t die! He just broke his arm
and had to go to the Doctor so that he could have it fixed.
As Kenny sat at the doctor’s office, he started to think
on what had happened. And as he thought about it, he started putting it all
together. And what do you think happened? What do you think Kenny thought
happened?
Okay, let me tell you! After all that thinking, he came up
with this! He figured that because Warren was behind him, and because he had
such a guilty look on his face, it must have been him that pushed him off the
tree house. Now this made him very mad. You see, until his arm got better he
couldn’t swim, ride bicycles or do any of the other cool things he normally
got to do. It made him so mad he never wanted to talk to Warren ever again. In
fact he didn’t want to be his friend ever again.
Well, I am afraid to say that this went on for quite some
time. They both wouldn’t talk to each other, and every time Warren tried to
talk to him, Kenny would run away as fast as he could. The only problem was
that none of them felt very happy inside! They didn’t know what to do with
themselves when the other one wasn’t around.
One day, Kenny’s granddad called him over to have a talk,
(Kenny’s mommy had told is granddad what had happened). His Granddad told
him the story of Esau and Jacob. You see Esau and Jacob where brothers. Now
Jacob tricked Esau and got him to give up his birthright, which in the Bible
days was a very important thing. Esau got so mad he wanted to kill his
brother. Well Jacob got so scared he ran away and went to another country,
where he worked for a very long time and became very rich - with Gods help!
Well one day Jacob decided to go home to where his mommy
and daddy lived. But there was one big problem and I mean big! If he went back
there he would have to face his brother who was a very big man!
So what he did was to send all the things he owned in front
of him to give them to his brother as gifts. But do you know what happed? No,
his brother didn’t want to kill him anymore. You see, he had forgiven his
brother and was so glad to see him, he ran right past all Jacob’s things and
ran up to his brother and gave him a big hug and kiss. And they made friends,
and from then on they were happy with each other again.
This made Kenny feel silly, because his broken arm wasn’t
as bad as what happened to Esau. And if Esau could forgive his own brother,
then to forgive Warren wouldn’t be so hard either. So he got down on his
knees and prayed this prayer,
Lord Jesus thank you for my
good friend Warren.
Thank you that we have such fun together.
Please forgive me for getting mad.
And please help me to make friends again.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Well Kenny went straight away and got his mommy to take him
to Warren’s house. And as they got closer to his house, he started to get
really nervous. He could just imagine how Jacob felt! Now as they pulled up to
his friends house, who should be there waiting for him? Yup - you guessed it,
Warren!
Now as Kenny told Warren the whole story and that he was
very sorry, Warren started to laugh. You see he didn’t push Kenny. Want
happened was two little boys behind Warren started to have a fight and as the
one pushed the other, they bumped Warren, who knocked Kenny off the tree
house.
Well, now Kenny was feeling really silly and didn’t know
where to put his head. That was soon sorted out as Warren handed him one of
their favorite ice creams that they always ate together. And do you know what?
After that they never had a problem like that again.
So are you mad at someone today? Did something happen to
make you mad with that person? Why not go and see them and forgive them for
what they did to you? I’ll tell you now; a friend is far more fun to have
than no friend! You will be laughing and having fun together again in no time.
The End
