It Only Takes a Minute

​Oh no, I did it again. Said something I shouldn’t have and wished I could take back. I tried to reach for the words and shove them back into my mouth. But it was too late. The damage had been done, as evidenced by the look of hurt on the hearer’s face. If only I could have stopped the words before they escaped my lips.

Since that hadn’t happened, I was left with a decision: continue the onslaught or mend the hurt. Tough choice sometimes. I opted for the latter. But in order to do that, I first had to let go of my anger.

Sadly, it took hours for me to work up the courage and humility to confess my fault and seek forgiveness. Yet it only took a minute — if that — to cause the pain.

Ironic, isn’t it?

Similarly, it can take a minute to forgive, or it can take hours — and sometimes days and years — to let go of pain and the right to be right and to release the offender. The odd thing about harboring anger is it only hurts us — not the source of our anger.

If I’d only taken a minute to think before I opened my mouth in the first place, my words likely would have landed much differently on the hearer’s ears.

Thankfully, I have another chance to choose my words wisely and to make an impact for good.