Something Uncomfortable: Day 129

http://www.facebook.com/SomethingUncomfortableSteppingFromFearToFreedom

I have had a morning filled with uncomfortable things. I planned on telling you about them until I heard a loud crash, followed by an awkward silence. I came around the corner and found my two children frozen in terror beside this:

 

My immediate response was a forceful, “Are you kidding me?!?! What happened?”

My kids told me about how they were horsing around under the table when it flipped. They were upset because they knew they were in trouble. And then I noticed this:

They broke the handle off of the Murphy bed cabinet that my dead grandfather made. The drawers came from the first bedroom set that my grandparents had. Are.you.kidding.me? I am a packrat hoarder of things that have sentimental value. My family was going to sell the Murphy bed with the house when my grandfather died. I pitched a fit and they paid a ridiculous amount of money to have this thing shipped from Arizona. I was LIVID to think that my kids damaged it!!!!

And then I looked into my son’s eyes. He was hysterical. Not because he was in trouble, but because he broke the thing that PAPA made. My heart broke.

I sent us all to time out for a moment so we could collect ourselves. After a couple of minutes, I gathered them together and explained that they are WAY more important than any thing that some dead guy made. I told them that we have rules like, “Don’t play under the folding tables,” in order to keep them safe. The cabinet is wobbly and the TV could have easily landed on one of them. I’m sure my husband, the carpenter who specializes in finish work, can fix it. And I told the kids that when we look at that handle we need to remember that they will always be more important than the things we own.

It was hard let that go so quickly… but I had to. My son’s poor little broken heart is way more important than a piece of wood. It’s so important to keep life in perspective and extend grace to the ones we love.

Who do you need to extend grace to today?