Be the Violet

Pastor recently used this quote by Mark Twain in a message, “Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” That made me think a little. I wrote it down because I was sure there was a message in those 15 short words that packed a punch. 

I’m a visual kind of girl, so in order to really understand the quote, I had to visualize someone’s heel crushing something. That made me think of making wine by stomping on grapes. Grapes on the outside don’t have much scent and they have a skin that protects its juicy pulp; however, as the foot comes down on the soft fruit, it explodes with juice and a delicious grape scent. 

So back to the quote…I don’t know much about violets, but Google says that some varieties have very fragrant blooms. So maybe much in the same way flowers would be used in perfume, a violet crushed would emit a pleasant aroma. Mark Twain likened that sweet aroma to forgiveness. He goes on to say that it is shed on the very heel of him who crushed it. So, instead of being mad at the crusher, the violet covers them with a sweet scent…the violet kills them with kindness.  

When someone hurts you, whether physically or emotionally, it is sometimes hard to forgive them. But how different would our lives be if, instead of seething in anger or plotting revenge, we forgive those who wronged us. We KNOW we’re supposed to…we all know that Jesus told Peter he was to forgive his brother 70 x 7 times. But when it comes right down to it, we don’t want to. At least for a few days, Lord, let me be angry, let them know how badly they hurt me. Truth is, they’ve probably moved on, maybe they don’t even know they’ve hurt you, so for those few days, they’re living rent-free in your head, stealing your joy. What if you killed them with kindness? What if they do know they wronged you, but instead of the violent response they were expecting, you covered them with kindness? Be the violet!