We were banished to the kitchen.  It wasn’t her fault- it was mine.  Her favorite new job of doing grandma’s pedicure was disrupted by my knocking the polish bottle out of her hand.  This mishap created a very contemporary coral design on my otherwise beige carpet.  Papa wasn’t happy.  We tried a couple quick fixes including polish remover to no avail.  I will be googling possible answers as the local folks had no remedy.  Later that morning Papa made a comment about it and the sweet girl replied, “A lesson learned by me and grandma.”

 

Accidents happen.  They range from funny to horrific.  Two funny ones come to mind.  Once I was getting up out of my rolling office chair to greet a prospective employee and fell flat on my face in front of her.  The other one was during a very strong mother lecture I was giving one of my girls and she dumped her glass of iced tea on my new white pants.  I didn’t miss a breath- just stood up lecturing and took them off in front of her- still lecturing- went to the sink for emergency soap and cold water- and continued lecturing.  When she began to giggle I looked up and said, “Do you think this is funny?”  The lecture ended…..

In recent years I have experienced repeated head injuries.  First a large bowl fell out of the closet and hit me on the head knocking me out momentarily.  I tried to move a shelf on which a small TV sat and it fell off and hit my head. I’ve tripped several times- most recently over a steel carpet strip someone was removing in a doorway. They left it sticking up part way through the job and upon opening the door my shoe caught it and sent me flying.  The jury is still out concerning the extent of any brain damage that has occurred and my children are threatening to buy me a helmet for Christmas!

 

Then there are the accidents which are really horrific and cause people to suffer physically, emotionally, and often spiritually.  Few of us have not been touched by one in this category.  We find no humor in them.  People walk away without words of comfort in shock themselves.  I thought about people I know this morning who are accident victims.  I had the thought Jesus never had an accident.  I was reminded that on the way to the cross he fell under the weight of all he was carrying.  God had a man right there who though forced, willingly carried the cross for him the rest of the way.  God always has a way to complete our journey.  It may not be easy, but the end of His plan is always good.  Today I will keep my eyes open and by the grace of God not walk away from anyone without offering comfort. I myself have experienced deep empathy and mercy over and over again.  We can only give what we have received……………………..