I opened the email and quickly became irritated. I’d helped organize a program and the sender wasn’t pleased about the way something had been handled. I agreed that all hadn’t gone as smoothly as I had planned. What ruffled my feathers was the cranky, snarky tone of the message.
My first reaction was to fire off an equally rude response. But after taking a few minutes to calm down, I decided against it. Lord Jesus, what should I do? How should I respond? I thought. Extend grace was what I heard in my spirit. No! I can’t do that, I said to myself. But then I sought guidance from a trusted friend. “Apologize,” she said.
I pushed back. She repeated, “Apologize.” I told her I would, but I was still fuming. I decided to sleep on it.
The next day during my morning devotions, I came across Ephesians 4:2. Okay, Jesus, I get it! The Lord confirmed what He had already told me. This time I obeyed and wrote a gracious email, apologizing to the sender for the inconvenience and promised to do better next time.
I was thankful that Jesus spoke to me again loud and clear. He let me know that it’s all about Him and I’m to represent Jesus well every day. Sometimes that means being humble and kind— and extending a little grace, like He has done for me countless times.
—Barbranda Lumpkins Walls
