Papa and Mama: In their own words

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"To you our children, we must say this - we shall always be there to care for you; and to listen to you every time you talk to us. But when we have to talk to you, you shut up. And you listen! We shall be good. That we may show you it pays to be good. And if you do bad, we'll spank you! And underlying these, we want you to remember, always, that no matter how bad you may have been, if you return like the prodigal son, you will always meet our open arms. And you will find in our embrace, forgiveness. And love. The love that was always there . And will ALWAYS be there."

 - Papa and Mama 

 I was having a meal with my nephew at a Vietnamese restaurant, in Chicago. And, I said, 'I wanted to use chopsticks and then, I said maybe on second thought I would just utilize western utensils?' But, I told my nephew that, upon seeing the chopsticks, they were fine. (Backstory, I was at a Korean restaurant and they had steel chopsticks which were difficult for me to use because of my ailment.) 

 Subsequently, my nephew called the food attendant and said, "he wants the chopsticks, he keeps changing his mind."

 So, I told her, 'I am so sorry, I am a foreigner and I am at a loss because I have to try them first if I would be able to use them.'

 Her reply, caught me off guard, or should I say, her words were impeccable. 

 I am used to hearing; it's okay, no problem; or, no worries; or, you don't have to apologize; or, it doesn't matter; or, it wasn't your fault; or, apology accepted. To tell you frankly, it was the very first time I heard someone said that to me for something I did that was so small to say the least.

 Do you know what she said?

 "You are forgiven." with a beaming smile.

 That reminds me and resonates in my soul that we have a Forgiving God. 

 Having been forgiven, in return, we forgive.

 At the end of the day, I hope you had a wonderful day.

 Always,

 James

















photo credit: mitchell haindfield to the great wide open via photopin (license)
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