I saw someone at the Sportsman’s Show this past week from a distance I haven’t seen for years. I don’t like them very much, so I turned around so as not to have them see me and be forced into a conversation I wouldn’t enjoy. It happened quickly, and what I did was primarily instinctive and unthought-out. After I turned around and walked away, I started thinking about the past as far as this individual was concerned and got emotionally worked up by my thoughts. I got a cup of coffee and some fries from an outside vendor and went and sat in my truck for a while. It wasn’t long before I repented of my bitterness, forgave them, and prayed for God’s blessing in their life. I went back in looking for them and was committed to warmly greeting them and talking about their life and how things were going. I never saw them again, so I assume I would have done well in my encounter with them. As I think about that event today, I am surprised at how easily past offenses stick with us and how quickly negative emotions pop into my heart when I see someone I don’t like from my past. I still don’t like them in that I probably won’t invite them to go fishing with me, but I can still love them, forgive them, and talk to them graciously if I see them again. Living life successfully is living by principles, commitments, and convictions, not emotions. I know what is right before God, and He will give me the strength to live it if I choose to.