In his book, "Lee: The Last Years", Charles Bracelen Flood reports that
after the Civil War, Robert E. Lee visited a Kentucky lady who took him to
the remains of a grand old tree in front of her house. There she bitterly
cried that its limbs and trunk had been destroyed by Federal Artillery
fire. She looked to Lee for a word condemning the North or at least
sympathizing with her loss.
After a brief silence, Lee said, "Cut it down, my dear Madam, and forget
it."
It is better for forgive the injustices of the past than to allow them to
remain, let bitterness take root, and poison the rest of our life. Today,
cut down the trees of bitterness that remain in your heart from hurts of
the past.
