Have you ever embarrassed your family? I did when I was a kid and I remember it like it was yesterday.
When I was nine years old, things began to change at our house. That’s when my mom found a part time job. Not only did she enjoy it, but she even became good friends with one of her coworkers: Fran. We went out with Fran and her family one evening and had a really good time. It went so well that my mom asked them over to our house for supper on that Saturday. That was a first for us. You see, most of the people who came to our house were relatives or neighbors who brought their kids over to play with me. Now, it was my grandparents who had people over to eat. Not only did they have a much bigger house, but they also had a much bigger table as well. We simply didn’t have any extra space in our house. I’ll put it this way, it was hard for three people to be in our kitchen at once and be able to move around.
Over the next few days, my mom and dad worked hard to make sure the house was clean and the yard was mowed. They placed the extra leaf in the table to make it a little longer. It still didn’t look big enough to me, but I didn’t want to ruin their excitement. To be honest, it was nice to see my parents like that.
After Fran and her family arrived, my mom and I sat the table and brought out the food. We had to cram the bowls together to hopefully make more room. It didn’t work. Let me tell you, there was no extra space anywhere. When we sat at the table, our chairs were almost touching each other. There wasn’t even much of a place to sit our drinks, which made me very uncomfortable. You see, I was very aware of my lack of coordination. Actually, I still struggle with it. But that evening I tried very hard to be careful. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.
I don’t remember what I reached for, but my hand brushed my glass. By the way, it was full of my mom’s sweet tea. It started to tip over. Instinctively, I reached over to stabilize it, but instead I hit it again. My glass fell over and straight onto Fran and her full plate food. If I was trying to aim for her, I couldn’t have done it as well. She yelped and jumped up from her chair. Her clothes were soaking wet and my drink was dripping off of the table and onto the rug underneath. I can still see her standing with her arms out from her and bent. In a way, she made me think of a chicken with its wings spread out when it was ready to flog. It fits because I think Fran wanted to wring my neck. Needless to say, my parents were horrified. They gave me a lecture about paying more attention to what I was doing. At that point, I felt very bad about myself.
“Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” Colossians 3:13 (KJV).
Did Fran ever forgive me? She did after the shock wore off and she was somewhat drier. None the less, my guilt hung around my neck for days. You know what? It was too heavy to keep carrying. While it’s important that we forgive each other, let’s not forget to forgive ourselves as well. Then learn from it and move onward.
I had my own “Fran” experience a few years ago. Tim and I had gone out to eat with some friends. The one sitting across the table from me reached over to pick up her glass. Instead, she rammed her hand into it, which caused the glass to overturn onto me. Are you wondering if I had a flashback to Fran? Actually, I didn’t. I drenched her during the summer. Since it was winter, my main concern was for Tim have the car good and warm when I got into it.
Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.