Last Saturday Sam and I went to go get the van for the ladies after dinner. Coming out of the coffee shop was a student from MHGS. She didn't know me, but boy did I know her. We were in a class this summer together. And, whenever she spoke, anger spewed from her mouth. No matter what anyone would say, she always had an angry word for them. On the last day of class, we were to go around giving people hugs and saying "thank you" if they had impacted us. No one seemed to approach her on that day. And, she eventually left the room without anyone stopping her. Her anger was deep and it stopped people from really engaging her. I certainly wasn't going to. She was too angry.
So, Saturday evening I could have kept walking. But, as she sat down on the bench I stopped and said, "Don't you go to Mars Hill?" "Mars Hill Graduate School?" she asked. "Yes." We ended up having a very long conversation. Convesation about the class, church, life. It was good. She thanked me for stopping and talking. She had said that she feared she had burned a lot of bridges with people she would have to continue being in school with for years to come because of her attitude in class. I reached out my hand in friendship, and she accepted it.
Sometimes angry people can be so repulsive that you don't want to engage them. Sometimes they shouldn't be engaged because trying to love them in that moment would only bring more anger. But, second opportunities to show love and forgiveness are sweet.
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