October 1, 2004

Lifting A Burden

Do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me. —Genesis 45:5

Bible In One Year: Isaiah 11-13; Ephesians 4

It was the last weekend of the 1964 baseball season. Bill Valentine was umpiring a game between the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees.

Dave Wickersham was pitching for Detroit, and he had 19 victories for the season. One more would be a sign of stardom. But it wasn't to be.

After a close play, Wickersham tapped the umpire on the shoulder to ask for a time-out. Touching an umpire is against the rules, so Valentine tossed Wickersham from the game—depriving him of his chance for a 20-win season.

For the next 39 years, Valentine lived with a gnawing regret for booting the pitcher in that split-second decision. But he doesn't carry that regret anymore. Last year, Wickersham wrote the umpire a note, telling him he was right in his decision and that he held no hard feelings. That note lifted a weight from Valentine's shoulders.

In Genesis 45, Joseph lifted a burden of guilt from his brothers, who had sold him into slavery—something far more serious than a simple misunderstanding. Yet he was willing to forgive them.

Is there someone who needs to hear a forgiving word from you that would lift a burden of regret? —Dave Branon

Let me forget the hurt and pain
Found along life's way;
Let me remember kindnesses
Given day by day. —Berry

Ground filled with the roots of bitterness needs to be plowed by the grace of God.