A man walked home from work one day when he saw a snail on his porch and said, "Oooh, a snail." So he kicked it as hard as he could, sending the snail to his neighbor's yard.

Two years later, the man was sitting in his front room watching television, when he heard a knock at the door. He answered the door finding no one there. As he was about to close the door, he looked down and saw a snail. The snail looked up and said, "So....what was that all about???"

My first reaction to this story was to think, "Two years is a mighty long time to hold a grudge (well, maybe not long for a snail!)."  But, wait a minute!  The snail doesn't hold a grudge.  There's no anger, no resentment in his voice.  It merely takes him two years to be able to say what most of us have the opportunity to say within hours, if we choose:  "You hurt me. Maybe it was unintentional, but you hurt me."

That's tough to do. A lot tougher than the option we often choose -- telling everyone else we know about what that "terrible person" did to us. Yes, it's tougher, but it's crucial if we want to preserve a good relationship.

Jesus said,

"Moreover if your brother sins against you,
go and tell him his fault between you and him alone...."
(Matthew 18:15)

Has someone done something to hurt you lately? Why not summon up the courage to say (without anger or resentment), "You hurt me. What was that all about?"  Oh yes, and be prepared to forgive!