The more Sally thought about it the angrier she became. She was wearing her favorite dress and Lucy caused her to spill her chocolate milk all over herself. Lucy was always saying mean things to her and now she was going too far. She had kicked her backpack down the hill, pushed her off the wall in front of the school and now this.
Sally came through the front door just as angry as she was during lunch.
“Oh, Sally. What happened to your dress?”
“Mom, it was Lucy again. Why is she so mean? She tried to take my milk from me today. When I wouldn’t give it to her she grabbed at it and spilled it on my dress.”
“I just want to pull her down by her pony tail.”
Sally’s mom knew that she had every right to be upset with her antagonist but she didn’t want her daughter to respond out of anger. She began to pray that God would give her the right words to help her little girl deal with this situation.
The next two days Sally came home furious because Lucy had taken her milk while she wasn’t looking.
“Sally, please sit with me on the couch for a minute. I have something I would like to share with you.”
Sally’s mom began to share with her a paragraph that she had read from the Bible the night before. She listened to her mom tell her that she should do good to those that hate her, bless those that curse her, and pray for those that abuse her.
“Mom, what does that even mean? It sounds like you are telling me to be nice to that mean monster.”
“Sally, I know this doesn’t seem to make sense to you. You are angry and you have a right to be. What Lucy is doing is not right. But the way you are handling it doesn’t seem to be working. I’m just asking that you try to work things out God’s way and give him a chance to help.”
“I don’t see how that will help. If I am nice to her she will just get worse. Plus…She needs punished! She can’t get away with this. But no one ever sees her.”
“Perhaps you could sleep on it and see what you think in the morning.”
Sally sat in bed and thought about what her mother had said early that day. She couldn’t figure out how her mother’s plan would help.
Sleep did not come easy to the troubled girl. She kept having a variation of the same dream over and over with Lucy taking her milk every time.
Sally left for school without saying much. Her mother could tell she was thinking about the conversation they had yesterday.
This is it she thought as she stood anxiously in front of her locker.
As she made her way down the hallway and into the lunch line she kept telling herself that she didn’t want to do it. She didn’t want to be nice to that brat.
Against her better judgment she reached down and picked up two milks today. As she exited the line she walked across the room to where Lucy was standing. She put a big smile on her face and tapped Lucy on the shoulder.
“I know how much you like milk so I bought one for you today.”
“I don’t want your stupid milk,” barked Lucy as she turned and walked out of the lunch room.
It wasn’t what she expected but it would do. Sally sat down at her usual table and smiled a big smile as she drank down her milk.
Based on Matthew 5:43-48.
Written by Larry Westfall. Copyright © Finding Wonder 2013.
