Write in Sand or Carve in Stone?

Two friends walk in the desert. As they walk, they talk and eventually argue. One friend got very angry and punched the other in the face.

The friend who got punched winced and then bent to write in the hot sand, "My friend just hit me."

They walk on across the hot sand until they reach an oasis. After quenching their thirst, they decide to take a swim. One friend got stuck in the mud in the bottom of the pool and started to drown. The one stuck was also the one who got punched.

The other friend rescued his friend from the mud and pulled him to safety on the shore. The rescued friend found a chisel and hammer and carved into a stone these words: "Today my good friend rescued me."

The rescuer just had to ask, "I hit you and you wrote in the sand. Now you write on stone. Why?"

The friend responded, "When we experience hurt at the hand of another, we should record our hurt in sand so the winds of forgiveness can blow it away. BUT when someone does something good and kind, then we must engrave that memory in stone where no wind can ever erase it so the memory will remain."

The moral is for us to learn:

• to write our hurts in sand and then blow on the sand with the grace of forgiveness.
• to carve our blessings and joys in stone.

When our blessings are carved in stone, then as one stone stacks upon another in life, we collect remembrances of stone to remind us of God's grace and love toward us. When we know God's grace and love for us, then we can forgive with free and loving hearts! It's the path to restoration!