Bitterness…

“All bitterness, anger and wrath, insult and slander must be removed from you, along with all wickedness.” Ephesians 4:31 HCSB

Myrtle A. Harris (my grandmother) was old school. She liked accomplish her daily work like her parents did back in the day. Most of the work she accomplished was by necessity, but at the time I did not realize this. I just thought she was very cool lady. She could hit any object with an apple core…she could kill, clean and cook a chicken, and routinely “put up” apple and strawberry preserves. She laughed easily, listened carefully and pondered cautiously. Even though she was a refined southern lady, sometimes she would do the most amazing things, like make biscuits and chocolate gravy on special mornings. She could whistle like any songbird and she loved and encouraged others to read books, and loved giving detailed accounts of what she was currently reading. I can remember many mornings sitting in her little kitchen and watching her as she made coffee by boiling water on top of the stove. What was cool about this routine is that she would do this without the aid of a coffee pot. I would watch her as the water began to boil and she would start pouring the coffee grounds in to the bubbling pot. She would let the water boil several minutes and then remove the pot from the burner. She then would collect the broken egg shells she had been saving for this specific reason and put them into the cooling coffee water as it steeped on the stove top. I asked her about her routine one time and she told me that the egg shells cut the bitterness from the coffee grounds. I can’t remember how well this process worked and if it did indeed cut the bitterness but I can tell you that every time I took a sip of grand mama’s dark black boiled java I would wind up spitting coffee grounds and eggshells for the rest of the morning. I was thinking about her morning ritual recently and began to think about how bitter some Christians always seem to be! God has truly blessed me so I can’t help but wonder, how they can remain bitter and upset for so long! They waste their lives by never letting go of past wrongs that someone may have committed against them. Life is way to short to hang on to bitterness. God has been so good to those of us who know Him! Bitterness has no place in the kingdom of the living God! In the great commandment Jesus instructs His followers to Love God, and to also Love people! If you are busy praying for and lifting up those you have difficulties with you will not be able to remain bitter! If you make God the top priority in your life your bitterness will quickly dissipate and you will experience joy. I have learned in life not to be upset or bitter of things that I cannot control. Pray today for those you are having troubles and problems with! The Word of God may be like using spiritual eggshells to cut the bitterness and resolve the anger! You will feel so much better when you do! And above all, lift up Jesus! Pray for those you are at odds with and forgive! I love you all!