What's That Smell?

As a young man I stayed in the river fishing and catching the things that live in the waters. I remember one time I had been fishing all day in the river and I had caught a mess of trout, that I had decided to bring home and clean for mom to cook. I cleaned the trout and discarded the guts and heads in the trash can in the kitchen. It did not take long to start smelling up the house, and when mom got home it was really "ripe". I took the trash to the outside cans but the next day it still was rotten, so I took the guts and heads and buried them in the field beside the house. The smell was finally gone. This childhood story reminds me of an adult problem. So many times we tend to hold a grudge against someone. That grudge becomes like that fish in the kitchen trash smelly and stinking up your life. You may even try and get rid of it by pretending to forget about it, but sooner or later the smell will catch up to you, and sometimes (most of the time) it will affect not only you but those that are close to you. You will become bitter and negative and really smell. You must do something to get rid of the smell. As Jesus Christ was being murdered he cried out and said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:24) It is time to move on, let it go, and forgive them.