Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing:

but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called,

that ye should inherit a blessing.

I looked through my journal this morning to see if I wanted to share anything. This passage and my notes struck me as a good thing to think about for any person.

When I wrote this, I was thinking of Lee. It was many years ago and our marriage wasn’t pleasant.

I realized the other day that this is a lesson I can still work on. I was insulted by a business person and while I held my tongue from speaking unwisely, I was very angry. When I read this entry this morning, I thought about the incident and realized I could have done better.

Here’s what I wrote many years ago.

1 Peter 3:9 (applies to me) don’t return an insult for an insult but give a blessing instead.

How can I give a blessing?

*pray for him

* speak kindly

*sweet note

*thank him for something good he’s done

*don’t be too proud to admit my own failings

*do something with him that he likes to do

*Obey God and let him see Christ in me

I spoke with a woman once who said that she didn’t want to thank her husband when he did something nice. She said, “It’s not enough and I don’t want him to think that one little thing makes up for what he’s done to me.”

I told her that what he’d done definitely didn’t make up for the way he had treated her. But I reminded her what I have learned. When I did what was right and let go of my anger and my right to get what I deserved, things began to change. When I thanked him for the things he did right or thought of ways to bless him, my heart changed dramatically.

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