This started out as a comment on Chelsey Delaney's blog about trying to get to know her folks after living with them most of her nineteen years.

Chelsey: Your post just reminded me of a daughter who recently told her dad, "I never want to see you again this side of your grave. Don't talk to me, you don't even exist from now on." That dad would love to sit down and tell her that her charge of "You only think about yourself" isn't really fair.


If he could he'd remind her of his decision to work away from home on "per diem" jobs rather than drag her and her mother all over creation during her last three years of high school. He'd like to tell her of the crappy places he lived in while supporting four households during her college years. He existed on $2 or $3 dollars an hour while sending the rest of his pay checks home.

Can you imagine living right across the river, and right down the river, from large chemical plants and refineries with no A/C in your apartment in south Texas or south Louisiana? The humidity ruined his computer. One time he even lived in a one room "apartment" in a noisy dog kennel. He had to go out into the actual kennel area to use the toilet and take a shower. He said the gal who was supposed to care for the dogs never cleaned the cages or the dogs so the smell was horrendous.

The building was adjacent to a huge pond in the swamp so the mosquitoes roamed in clouds. The rats and snakes had the run, or crawl, of the place. His health suffered because of the conditions and the mold resulting from not getting all the water out of the carpet when it was “cleaned”.

Chelsey’s wise trying to “get to know” her parents while she has them.

Hopefully, the other girl will get things patched up with her dad before it's too late.

*****

We heard from that daddy today. He said, "My daughter needs to get over this for her sake. holding on to something lkie this will eat up the one holding it while it might not do a thing to the object of one's rath. I've already forgiven her."

In chapter six of Matthew, the only thing that Jesus repeated from the sermon on the mount was, esentially "Forgive those who trespass against you, for if you can't forgive others, how can the Father forgive you?"