The Wisdom of Hesitation

Please bear with me on the formatting for this post. The preview looks fine, but for some reason I am unable to get it to post in the proper format.

The following story is provided by Jim Shaver from West Virginia!

"On a cross-country journey in the summer of 2009, I stopped at a rural
New Mexico freeway rest area. I noticed an elderly gentleman with a
small dog climb into his pickup truck and leave. Moments later an
elderly woman approached the parking space with a confused expression. I
asked if she was looking for the man in the white pickup.

She confirmed and I explained I'd watched him drive onto the highway. It
was her husband; she asked to use my cell phone. When she dialed his
number his phone rang in her purse; she was unable to call him.

For nearly an hour, I and several truck drivers patiently waited with
her. Quite a crowd gathered. At times, she appeared angry and
frustrated, other times more confused and worried. Finally, a truck
driver and wife escorted her to their rig for coffee, while he used his
CB to notify other drivers to be on the lookout.

Then I saw the white truck pull back into the same parking spot. A
frantic elderly man jumped out. I let him know where his wife was. I let
his wife know her husband had returned.

They both hurriedly approached each other from across the lot until only
a few steps apart. Suddenly, they both stopped and just looked at each
other. The standoff lasted several seconds, neither uttering a word.

Then the man began to weep. He ran to her arms and sobbed
uncontrollably. After several attempts of his unintelligible attempts at
speech, she gently took her husband's cheeks into her hands, forcing him
to look into her eyes.

Over and over she said, "It's OK." I looked around through my blurring
eyes to see numerous tears flowing in the nearby crowd.

After a few moments of tears and hugging, he regained enough composure
to explain he'd realized his error within seconds of merging onto the
highway. However, there was no safe place to turn around on the divided
highway until the next exit, 12 miles away. Needing to backtrack again,
he'd driven 48 miles to return.

The wife is the real hero in this story. When the couple both first saw
each other, she had every right to unleash her anger for being
forgotten. She had every right to chastise, and belittle until her heart
was content. Most people would have vented anger on first seeing the
perpetrator.

But at that moment, even though she had every "right" to lash out, she
hesitated. By delaying her tirade, she transformed a situation of anger
and bitterness into one of unforgettable mercy and kindness. Even though
only observers, those of us who witnessed this event were graced by her
demonstration of forgiveness and genuine love.

To this day, whenever I feel slighted and ready to lash out, I think of
this experience and hesitate. Just because I have every right to be
angry, doesn't necessarily mean it's the best choice."

-Jim Shaver

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matt 6:14-15

God bless you. And this is for His Glory!