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Sorry!
By Donna G. Frye
August, one of the hottest months of Summer!Ethan and Ian like to skate on their roller blades, and the only place to skate is on the short sidewalk in their yard. It is smooth and just long enough to get up a little speed in time to spin around and come back.Ethan is skating down the sidewalk, while Ian is skating back. After several times back and forth, the boys are starting to get very hot! They also want to skate without the other one in the way. Wham!! They hit!"Ouch!" cries Ian.Ethan laughs at him and says, "Watch where you are going!" and keeps on skating. Ian glares at his twin brother. "I'll show you," he thinks.Now, Ethan is skating back down the sidewalk, and Ian, waiting for him, runs into him. Down goes Ethan on the hard sidewalk."Ouch!" cries Ethan. "You did that on purpose!""No, I didn't," Ian says. "You just weren't watching where YOU were going!""I was too!" Ethan yells."You were not!" Ian yells back.Ethan jumps at Ian. Ian tries to skate away, but Ethan grabs him. The boys are wrestling each other on the sidewalk. Ian, knowing that Ethan is going to hit him, decides to hit first. He swings at Ethan, but Ethan ducks. Ethan swings at Ian, but Ian ducks. Whack! Their heads hit!Ethan yells at Ian, "You hit my eye!!!"Ian yells back, "You gave me a bloody nose!"Ian skate-runs into the house, "Mama! My nose is bleeding!! Mama!"And Ethan is right behind him yelling, "Mama, Ian hit me in the eye! Mama!""What are you two yelling about?!" cries Mama. Then she sees Ian's bloody face. "Oh, my goodness, what have you two been fighting about now?"She takes Ian into the bathroom and cleans his face. She gives him a washcloth, tells him to lie down and press the washcloth against his nose to help stop the bleeding.Then Mama looks at Ethan and sees a big welt forming under his left eye. "Boy, are you going to have a black eye!" Ethan smiles at her. The thought of a black eye is kind of neat! Mama puts some ice in another washcloth and gives it to Ethan to hold under his eye."Now, boys," Mama says, "what were you two fighting about?"Ethan and Ian start talking at the same time, "Well Ethan kept running into me while I was skating." "Ian pushed me down on purpose!""Sounds to me like you are both at fault. You know the Lord wants you to play together nicely; not fight all the time. Now, I want both of you to say you're sorry."Ian and Ethan just look at each other, still angry. Mama says, "If you can't say you are sorry, then you both can stay in your room for one hour."After about a half-hour, Mama asks the boys if they are ready to say sorry."NO!" Ian and Ethan both answer.Mama then reminds them that Proverbs 24:29 says, "Do not say, 'I shall do to him as he has done to me.' Getting even is wrong and only hurts yourselves. When you do things that you shouldn't, it upsets the Lord. That's what adults call 'not being right with the Lord'. I want you two to think about how upset the Lord is with you right now."Mama leaves the room as Ethan and Ian continue to glare at each other.Mama returns 15 minutes later. "So, have you thought about how to make things right with the Lord?" Ethan and Ian look at each other and then at Mama, but don't answer. Mama continues, "You say sorry. You say sorry to each other and REALLY mean it. You tell the Lord what you did, maybe even why you did it, say you are sorry and REALLY mean it. Then, you ask the Lord to forgive you, and the Lord immediately forgives you."Ian asks, "But, Mama, why do I have to say sorry to the Lord? It's Ethan I'm mad at, not the Lord." Ethan adds, "Yea, I'm mad at Ian, not the Lord. Why should he care that I'm mad at Ian?"Mama continues, "The Lord cares because when you are fighting with your brother, that is wrong, that is sin. Sin upsets the Lord. When the Lord is upset with us, He does not hear our prayers. Your prayers are very important, and you want the Lord to hear them. That is why you must say sorry to each other and also to the Lord for your sins, so the Lord will listen to you and not say, 'Don't talk to me,' like you two are saying to each other!"Ethan and Ian look guiltily at each other. "Oh," says Ian. "So the Lord is mad at me and Ethan because we are fighting?" "Yes," says Mama. "1 John 1:9 says that if we tell what we did wrong, the Lord is faithful and will forgive us. The Lord loves you both very much. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says that if we pray and try not to do bad things, the Lord will hear from heaven, will forgive our sins, and will bless us. It is very important to ask God to forgive you of your sins if you want Him to hear your prayers. Now, I want you boys to think about this for the rest of the hour. I will be back soon to check on you," and Mama left the room.Ethan and Ian look at each other, look away, and look again. "Ethan, I'm sorry I pushed you. You made me mad when you ran into me," Ian says. Ethan answers, "Yea, well, I'm sorry for running into you. I just wanted the sidewalk to myself and thought if I pushed you, you'd go in the house. I'm sorry for that, too. It's more fun skating with you than when I'm by myself." Ian replies, "I know what you mean about wanting the sidewalk to yourself. Maybe we could take turns practicing our spins." "That's a great idea!" says Ethan. "Now, all we have to do is tell God we're sorry."Ethan and Ian both say a prayer to the Lord, saying they are sorry for fighting, for hurting each other and for hurting the Lord. The boys then ask the Lord to forgive them and to help them to do better. The Lord hears them, and immediately forgives them! Mama comes back into the room as Ethan and Ian are praying."Well, I'm glad to hear you saying sorry to each other and to the Lord. Maybe now you can go outside and skate together. You know that it's more fun when you laugh than when you argue!" "Yes Ma'am!!!" cried Ethan and Ian as they skate out the front door.
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