It seems that there are many who are offended today by the small stuff. Things which wouldn’t have been noticed twenty or thirty years ago, but today the words or actions seem to get under people’s skin. What happened? Did we all get so thin-skinned in the past few decades until even the little stuff causes problems which can’t be forgiven?

Have you said something to someone in the past which you didn’t mean in the way that it was taken? We have all said something at one point or another in our lives which we truly wish we had never said but just like spilled milk, words can’t be put back. The damage is done, sometimes the damage takes months or years to come to light. Then again, sometimes a word or phrase or even a gesture can blow up like a bomb and cause all sorts of hurt and emotional pain.

Can this be fixed? Sometimes they can, and sometimes they can’t or won’t be forgotten or forgiven. The rhyme we learn as kids, usually from our parents or a friend actually isn’t true…words can hurt, sometimes deeply enough that the person never heals and never forgets. Many times those words were spoken in anger or under the influence of alcohol or prideful arrogance.

Yes, I have said things in the past which I regret to people who were my friends or schoolmates. Mainly because I can’t remember who I said them to or under what circumstance they were said, and it bothers me that I can’t recall having said them. Do I wish that I had not said or done whatever it was which caused someone pain? Yes! I pray that I will have the opportunity to ask forgiveness one day but today I can’t because I don’t remember what was said or to whom it was said.

Lord, I pray that you will bring this to my attention or bring us together so that healing can begin before this life is over. Amen.