As I wrote on January 5, I don’t always know who reads these blogs, and I know even less about what their effect is so it was a joy to receive this message from Barb, a long-time blog reader about January 4’s blog on anger. I have edited out some of the gorier details and changed the name of her friend:

Jane has had a very difficult life, from family molestation in childhood…to an abusive husband from whom she ran, to seeing horrible injuries while as a nurse…Jane is on oxygen and a walker, is diabetic, has a lot of heart damage from several heart attacks, and has a bad knee from a couple of botched knee replacement surgeries…Most recently she suffered 3 attacks while living in the horrible…assisted living facility.

Wow. That’s enough to make anyone angry! Barb continues:

Jane seemed to be keeping her faith until Saturday afternoon when she began to spew such anger and even plans to kill her attackers.  It was horrible and clearly an attack of Satan.  Nothing I could say could calm her or turn her eyes back to God.

Then your blog arrived in my email, and it was perfectly focused on Jane’s need.  I printed it and handed it to her, not knowing how she would react.  She didn’t say anything but took it to her room.  By Sunday morning, she was very repentant, praying, rebuking Satan.

Wow again. I wrote to Barb:

Thank you, Barb. That’s quite a story. I’m glad God used his word in my blog to make a difference. Jane’s letting go of her anger hasn’t changed her situation nor punished her attackers, but it has saved her. As [Navigator] Skip Gray used to say,

Harboring bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other guy to die.

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled. (Hebrews 12.14 – 16, NKJV)

Be angry and do not sin… (Psalm 4.4, Ephesians 4.26, ESV))