Apologize?

I had just come home from spending the night at a friend’s house. We had stayed up late talking, and I was really tired. When I came home I noticed every little thing out of place.

My sisters were in my room, and it was a mess. Immediately, I blamed it on them. In reality they were just there to put away some of my clean laundry. But in my grumpy state, I ordered them out and slammed the door.

As I started to clean up the room, I remembered that I had left it in a mess. But I wasn’t going to apologize to my sisters. I noticed a few of my hair clips missing and went into their room and yelled at them. By then, they were angry, and we had a fight. I was still steamed when I stalked back into my room and slammed the door again.

Many strange things can be found when you clean your room, things like socks, your Sunday dress, nylons without a run, and hair clips. I still wasn’t going to apologize to them.

A few hours later, my room was neat, but I still wasn’t very happy. I remembered what Mom had told me: “If you’re ever angry, in a bad mood, or scared, read your scriptures. And if you don’t feel like it, read them anyway.”

I opened my Bible and started to read about Jacob and Esau because that is my favorite story in the Old Testament. I read where Esau met Jacob and his family and Jacob gave Esau the gifts “to find grace in the sight of my lord” (Gen. 33:8).

I realized that if Jacob and Esau could become friends again, I could repair the relationship with my little sisters. I went in and apologized. They seemed a little surprised. When I offered them the loan of my hair clips, and they asked why, I just said, “to find grace in thy sight.”