"Lenting" Go of Resentments

First off, let me admit that I am a person who harbors resentments all too readily. The Oxford English Dictionary definition speaks for me: Resentment: 1. "An indignant sense of injury or insult received or perceived..." 2. "A negative attitude towards society or authority arising, often unconsciously, from an aggressive envy and hostility, frustrated by a feeling of inferiority or impotence."
The word itself is derived from the French for re + sentiment, or, to re-feel, to feel again. I can testify to my own tendency to re-feel slights, real or imagined. What I don't understand (yet) is why anyone would want to keep on feeling something that is uncomfortable (and has proven ill consequences for one's health). The only thing I can come up with is that it's like picking at a scab - you know you're not supposed to, and in a way you don't even want to, because it's painful and could cause bleeding or lead to infection. And yet there's a sort of perverse satisfaction at continuing to pick at that scab - to re-feel the sensation, even if it's one of pain.
Last Sunday when I arrived at church - late, as usual - I saw in the bulletin that the preacher was the youth minister and I was disappointed because, truth to tell, I didn't think she was all that good the first time I heard her. However, as God is wont to do in trying to get through to us, the minister's message was just what I needed to hear. She observed that Lent begins this week and that, traditionally, people decide to give up something in order to prepare for Holy Week and Easter coming 40 days from now. Typical things one might give up include rich foods (chocolate!), alcohol, tobacco, and even one's money in the form of donations to help those less fortunate. But what if, the youth minister posited, we decided to give up some of our resentments during Lent? Brilliant! I decided then and there that I would do just that, and in fact I let go of a resentment I had recently cultivated toward a family member who had not yet acknowledged an act of kindness toward him on my part.
One spiritual practice I've learned to engage in when feeling resentful is to pray for that person and so that is what I have been doing. What a wonderful - and welcome - surprise awaited me the next time I turned on my computer and checked for messages, because right there in front of me was a thank you note from the family member in question. No more resentment on my part, and clearly not on his. So, what are you giving up for Lent?