"Troy! Troy! Earth to Troy?" Jenny said, waving her hands at Troy to get his attention.

"Oh, yeah", Troy said, now giving her his full attention.

"Troy, what's up with you? You're not yourself lately", Jenny said.

"There's nothing wrong with me. I'm totally fine. Everything's just great", Troy said.

He didn't want to sound sarcastic, but that's how it came out.

Troy, you know you can talk to me about anything. Spill it."

"Okay. You know I have a brother, right? Well, he came here and apologized but I'm just so hungry with him."

"What did he do?"

"He got promoted and had to leave the state. Well, when he left he always sent some money but after a while, he stopped. I was worried and tried calling him over and over again, but he never answered. It's like he forgot about me, forgot about our family and that really hurt me. We were really close before he left and he threw that all away", Troy said with thick emotion in his voice.

He didn't want to cry in front of Troy but he knew he couldn't hold the tears back for much longer.

"I'm sorry for what happened between you and your brother but you can't hold on to that any longer. You have to forgive him."

"I don't need a lecture, Jenny."

"Why can't you forgive him? You forgave me."

"Yeah, but this is different. I didn't expect him to behave like that. It was totally unlike him. He really hurt me.

"Think about Joseph in the Bible. He forgave his brothers. All of them and they really hurt him but he forgave them."

"I know it's the right thing to do but it's really difficult. It's almost impossible.

"With God, nothing is impossible. I'll be praying for you."

"Thanks, but I don't think that will change anything."

"We'll see."

Troy knew that forgiving his brother was the right thing to do. It was like everywhere he turned, someone was talking about forgiveness. It was the topic for the sermon on Sunday and now, the topic of the devotional he was reading.

He knew God was telling him to forgive but it was so difficult. Why was doing the right thing s o hard? He looked at the Bible verses in the devotional.

Colossians 3:13

Be gentle and ready to forgive; never hold grudges. Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Ephesians 4:32

Be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.

Filled with anger, Troy threw the devotional at the wall. Hot tears started pouring down his cheeks.

"Why is this so difficult? Why is it so painful?!" Troy cried out.

He quickly got down on his knees and closed his eyes.

"Heavenly Father, I know I have to forgive Scott. You know what he did wrong and you know how much it hurts. Forgiving Scott seems impossible, but I know with you, nothing is impossible. So please help me forgive my brother. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen."

At that moment, Troy felt like the hurt, anger and pain that had built up in him was being lifted off him, like a weight being removed. He knew God was touching hin and someway, somehow he forgave his brother.