The following story is about a mother, but it has a very powerful message for all of us:
A widow whose children had left her one by one to go to the “new country” (as she called it) heard each of them promise to save money and to send for her “very soon.” Time passed; the children married and had children, but no mention came of sending for the old mother. She longed to see them, but thinking they lacked the means, she saved up enough money herself to pay them a surprise visit. But, her reception was the reverse of what she had fondly anticipated. Her children, who had prospered, seemed annoyed at their mother’s coming, criticized her old-fashioned dress and speech, and had no room for her. The disappointed woman came back and entered a home for the aged, where she proved a blessing to all about her, shedding on those around her the love that her own children had rejected. No bitterness remained in the heart of the aged saint. “It seems to me that I knew what our Lord suffered,” she told a friend, “when He came to His own dear people and they gave Him the cold shoulder. Just think! He came unto His own and His own received Him not! I can understand how that wounded His loving heart.” Yet she could praise God for the experience since it drew her closer to her Savior and made her more compassionate toward others. (copied)
Sometimes we just have to make the best of a bad situation.We can’t control what others do, but we can choose our response. And, we are responsible for our response. It is always our duty to demonstrate Christ-like love. When we do everyone benefits.
