Peace in your family

Mark Swinney

Keeping the peace at home can often take considerable effort. Sometimes, things said and done—either purposely or even unintentionally—ignite the fires of resentment or unforgiveness. How can we quench these fires? Here's what a friend of mine did.

She was on vacation with her family, and her boyfriend came to visit. Most of the family wanted to explore an area in the mountains nearby. The young woman's father, though, thought it was a bad idea and said no. Disaster struck when my friend and her boyfriend, believing they were alone, harshly criticized her father. But her father overheard them! All of a sudden the family went from having a relaxing holiday to feeling the need for extensive damage control.

The girl told me that she and her boyfriend felt absolutely horrible. It seemed that her relationship with her father was so torn that it might never be properly mended. As she walked outside with her friend, they both prayed with all their hearts. She is a Christian Scientist, so it was normal for her to turn to God, especially at such a time of great need. Yet how could she expect things ever to be right again when she had done something so wrong? Was she forced to live forever with the consequences of her mistake?

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