Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Our reading titled Reconciling Relationships was written by Kimya Loder.

My sister and I clashed frequently when we were younger, but one time especially stands

out in my memory. After a bout of yelling back

and forth where we both said hurtful things, she said something that in the moment seemed

unforgivable. Witnessing the animosity growing between us, my grandmother reminded us of our

responsibility to love each other. God gave you one sister in life. You've got to

show each other a little grace, she said. When we asked God to fill us with love and understanding,

he helped us acknowledge how we'd hurt each other and to forgive one another. It can be so easy to

hold on to bitterness and anger, but God desires for us to

experience the peace that can only come when we ask him to help us release feelings of resentment.

Instead of harboring these feelings, we can look to Christ's example of forgiveness that comes from

a place of love and grace, striving to be kind and compassionate,

and to forgive each other,

just as in Christ God forgave us.

When we find it challenging to forgive,

may we consider the grace that he extends to us each day.

No matter how many times we fall short,

his compassion never fails. God can help us remove

bitterness from our hearts, so we're free to remain hopeful and receptive to his love.

Today's Our Daily Bread Devotional Scripture reading is from Ephesians chapter 4, verses 22 through 32.

You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires,

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