Forgiveness
In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. [Ephesians 4:26-27]
"Dorothy and the Dolphin"
“Oh yeah, well you are the stupidest sister in the world!” Angelo
yelled at his sister Dorothy so loud his voice began to crack.
“I am not stupid, Angelo!” Dorothy shouted back her face red with
anger. “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you.” And she stormed out
of the game room and ran upstairs to her room and slammed the door so loud
the neighbors heard it and then she threw herself on the bed and cried.
She hated fighting with Angelo but she was so mad right now, she didn't
know what she might do. To forget the fight, she turned on her TV in her
room and her favorite cartoon TV show, Donald the Dolphin was on. Soon she
was distracted by the silly, mostly ridiculous things that cartoon characters
get to do.
“It must be easy to be a cartoon character.” She heard herself
mutter feeling that she might be drifting off to sleep.
“Its time for Shakey the Shark to blow up!” The shrill cartoon
voice of Donald the Dolphin woke Dorothy up. She sat straight up and looked
for the floor of her room. But there was no floor. Under her were crayon
colored waves of water but not water because she was walking on them. She
panicked and spun around and everywhere she looked, it was the cartoon world.
“Where am I?” she said frantically trying to grab a hold of something.
But everything was cartoon reality so it just squished through her hands.
“Why you are here with me Dorothy." said Donald the Dolphin doing a
huge leap from the Skalley Walley Ocean and coming down with a huge SPLASH.
Dorothy actually saw the word SPLASH appear above the cartoon water and
then it splattered everywhere. It got on her but she wasn't wet, just covered
in cartoon goo that quickly disappeared in the next frame.
“Donald, where is my dad and mom, where is my brother?” Dorothy
asked trying to figure out right away how to get back to real life and out
of the cartoon.
“But I thought you wanted to be in a cartoon, Dorothy. Ahoy, Chester
the Chicken!” Dorothy turned around and she was scooped up on a huge
orange and yellow cartoon jet ski. Chester the Chicken was driving and laughing
wildly. The jet ski took off into the sky with just a swirl of exhaust and
then landed on the road near Skalley Wumpkum Town where Chester the Chicken
was mayor.
“We know you are mad at Angelo, Dorothy. Here in cartoon land, we can
give you lots of funny ways to get back at him.” Chester said in a
voice that was always too high and too low but never in the middle. ‘SHALZOOM!”
Chester said and a cartoon version of Angelo appeared. Dorothy almost ran
to him until he started popping his eyes out and turning his feet into springs.
Then she knew he was just a cartoon.
“As mayor of Shalley Wumpkum Town, you are guilty of making Dorothy
mad Angelo and so your sentence is SHALZOOM!” All of a sudden, a massive
rock dropped form nowhere and squished the cartoon Angelo. Dorothy screamed
but then he oozed out the side of the rock and popped right back into the
shape of cartoon Angelo.
“Wowzie Zowzie, that stung!” Cartoon Angelo said laughing.
“Now you get to try one Dorothy. Make Angelo pay for making you mad.”
Chester insisted.
“But I don't want Angelo to get hurt!” She insisted.
“Well then I will do it!” Chester said and he opened a wood door
in his chicken belly and said “SHALZOOM”.
An angry swarm of cartoon insects surged out of the door and went directly
toward Angelo. Each one did two loop-de-loops and then stung him in the
behind. Angelo started running down the road whooping and jumping. Dorothy
didn't know what to do. This is all so silly and meaningless. What she needed
was some real wisdom from someone she trusted to help her with her anger
at Angelo.
“Oh I wish I was with someone wise.” She said as she began to
run at super fast speed on her cartoon legs that had turned into wheels
and she passed Angelo but then shot off a huge cliff and was falling, falling
falling…………
“Oh!” she awoke with a start.
“Are you ok sweetie?” she heard a very real human voice. It was
Grandpa. She was dozing on his lap. “I think you had a nightmare.”
“I did Grandpa. I was a cartoon in the Donald the Dolphin show and
I was mad at Angelo and they were making me do awful things to him and and
and…” she started to pour out what she saw there.
“Shush little girl” Grandpa said as only he could do. “You
are safe here now. You are angry at Angelo and you don't know what to do?”
He asked.
“Yes and I said some terrible things to him before I went to my room
and pouted and went into the cartoon world and I felt just terrible and
I don't know how to forgive him and I know I need to ask his forgiveness
and, and and….” She continued demonstrating that she had not yet
learned to talk in more than one sentence.
“Dorothy,” said Grandpa. “You don't need the magic of cartoons
to make everything right. You have a secret super power. It's called forgiveness.
If you will forgive Angelo, your heart will fill with love for him again
and all those awful feelings will go away.” He told her giving her
that wisdom she had been begging Chester the Chicken for.
“But how Grandpa?” Dorothy said confused.
“You know how Jesus forgave you of all your sins and came into your
heart?” Grandpa said.
“Oh yes Grandpa. He forgave me of everything and made me clean inside.”
“Well just go to that place in your heart where Jesus is and ask him
to help you give the forgiveness to Angelo that he gave to you when he died
for you and rose again. The Holy Spirit will throw that resentment and anger
right out of your heart and you will forgive him in a deep place and then
it will be easy to go ask him to forgive you.”
“I can feel it already Grandpa. I think Jesus has already given me
the secret super power of forgiveness. I am going to go make up with Angelo
right now. Thank you Grandpa.” She said happily hugging his neck and
she hopped down and ran to the door.
“Isn't there one more thing you need to do today after you make up
with Angelo?” Grandpa called to her. Dorothy stopped and thought about
it and then laughed her happy little girl giggle.
“There sure is Grandpa.” She said. “I am going to quit watching
the Donald the Dolphin cartoon show right away!’
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” [Mark 11:24-25]
