Forgive Them, or Outlive Them.

Every so often I come across something I like.  Of course I have edited this a bit, and would love to share it with you.  I truly hope that I can live up to these words of encouragement.

Toward the end of Sunday service, the Priest asked, “How many of you have forgiven your enemies?”

80% held up their hands.  He then did a sermon on forgiveness and the Priest then repeated his question.
This time all held up their hands, except one small elderly lady.

The Priest was bewildered.

He asked, “Mrs. James ,  Are you not willing to forgive your enemies?”

”Oh Father, I don't have any enemies.” She replied, smiling sweetly. 

The Priest was both astonished and impressed.  “Mrs. James, that is very unusual. May I ask, how old are you?”

“Ninety-eight.” She replied.

“Oh, Mrs.  James, how remarkable.  You must be a very special woman.  Can you please come down in front and tell us all how a person can live ninety-eight years, and not have a single enemy in the world?”

The little sweetheart of a lady tottered down the aisle (still wearing her stiletto heels), faced the congregation, and said, “Thankfully, I outlived all those bitches.” 

I actually sent this story to my Aunt Cora.  She is eighty-four years young, and believe me, in her prime she was a sassy, saucy women. 

In fact I have had three female role models in my life.  They are…

My  Mother -- who taught me how to stay positive and laugh often.  She also gave me an incredible sense of fairness.  She insisted that my sisters and I achieve success through our brains – thankfully, not through our “good looks” --because I would have come up quite short. But most importantly as a female role model, she gave me a tremendous work ethic.

My Aunt Helen (who also worked at UCW) gave me a sense of freedom.  Growing up, she taught me how to dance around the house and make the most out of life.  She convinced me that I could do fun and spontaneous things without feeling embarrassed or introspective.

To this day, I have been known to dance around a hotel lobby if there is a band playing.  My grand daughter, Niccie, and I did just that two nights ago. 

And finally, my Aunt Cora.  She taught me that one could achieve in business, as she did, and still be the consummate hostess.  I learned how to set the table properly, which fork to use, and how to entertain guest. 

Boy, I must say, I was pretty lucky to have such strong, accomplished wonderful women in my life. 

So the moral to my story is, hopefully if I’ve had any enemies, I have forgiven them, and if I haven’t thus far, I hope I outlive them.