To Lady A, the mom who forgave my kid today, a thank you doesn’t seem sufficient.
My kid has inherited his fiery temper from me. I would love to pass the buck here and blame this fit throwing behavior on to his father, but in fact his dad is even, slow to anger and even when he’s angry, he doesn’t lose it, so I only have the mirror to look into to find where this outrageous behavior comes from.
Today you were CALM.
Our two sons were playing tug of war with a belt and eventually the fun ended and when my kid couldn’t get the belt back, he resorted to his sinful nature and hit your sweet son. I could see you in the corner of my eye and you stood there quiet and calm. I am well aware that inside every mama is a bear, so while I’m not sure what level your bear was at when this incident occurred, you set your claws aside and stayed calm. Thank you.
Today you were GRACIOUS.
I went over to get my adorable perpetrator and had him apologize to your little one immediately. I then brought him over to you also and had him apologize and as soon as he said, “Will you forgive me?” you immediately responded, “Of course I forgive you Buddy.” You could have chosen to speak out of hurt or anger (or clawing mama bear), but instead you chose to be gracious with your words. Thank you.
Today you were KIND.
As we were leaving to go home, you grabbed me before getting into your car and hugged me to not only soothe me with your words, but to assure me with your touch that things were in fact, okay. You could have been rude or in a hurry to leave, but instead you chose kindness. Thank you.
Today you were THOUGHTFUL.
I felt sick for hours after leaving the park and it followed me into the evening. I love my kid with all my heart but I also hurt so badly when his sinful nature wounds another precious child. As I was sitting in my nauseated state, in came a random text from you that said, “So I’ll tell ya again not to give this afternoon a second thought…I’m proud to call ya a friend. Don’t let it get ya down.” You have 2 kids at home to take care of and a husband to support and yet, in the middle of your busy evening, you chose thoughtfulness over everything else in order to assure me one more time that things were alright. Thank you.
Today you were ENCOURAGING.
You continued to write in your text your honest thoughts/hardships about motherhood and how the Lord teaches us through it all. Sometimes I can feel like I am the only one who has a kid that messes up and while I do fully believe that your children are perfect (because they are), I certainly appreciate your disclaimer to me that, though the struggles may be different, at the end of the day all of our children struggle with something. You made me feel normal. You could have said a lot of things tonight, but you chose transparency and encouragement. Thank you.
Today and ALWAYS, you were a really GOOD FRIEND.
Lady A, thank you. Thank you for your calmness, graciousness, kindness, thoughtfulness and encouragement. I love you and I am grateful for you. I pray that the Lord continues to work on my heart, my child’s heart and I pray that the Lord blesses you and your family with His favor and His love.
Thank you for showing my child what forgiveness looks like today. You are an elegant woman, full of His spirit, a true Lady. When you forgive my child, you are doing deep down goodness to my soul. From one mama to another, thank you from every piece of my heart.
With love,
Lauren
