Mercy
I scorched my tongue on some hot chocolate a few days ago. The incident reminded me of an experience back in 2008.We used to live in South Pasadena, California. On New Years Day in 2008, we had tickets to see the Rose Parade. We had three kids at the time. Julie had just turned two.We had to arrive early, and the mornings were cold (LA cold, but whatever). We got everything ready, including bringing a big thermos full of piping hot chocolate. I also filled up Julie’s sippy cup with the same hot chocolate. We rode the train one stop into Pasadena, then we walked to our seats.By the time we got there, the only four chairs together were in the back. We sat down, eagerly anticipating the parade. Some nice people saw our little kids and our parade-viewing position, and offered seats on the front row. Unfortunately, there were only two chairs. We decided to let Samantha and Landon sit up front, and we stayed in the back with Julie.
As the rest of the crowd arrived, the seats filled up. A man in a cream-colored, suede leather jacket sat in front of us. This becomes important in a moment.The Rose Parade began. It was wonderful. The floats were amazing and smelled as good as they looked. My big kids were well-behaved and enjoying the parade. Julie decided she wanted a drink. I handed her the cup.She put the cup to her lips and took a big drink.
SPLECH!She spit it out instantly and directly in front of us…all over the man’s suede jacket. The cream one.And here, a law of physics came into play. I’m not sure which number it is, but it goes like this: if you have mouth-scorching hot chocolate in a sippy cup and your daughter starts to drink it, that liquid MUST keep spraying out until all the pressure is released.That’s exactly what happened.As we watched in horror, the sippy cup sprayed and sprayed. The man’s gorgeous suede jacket was covered with hot chocolate. Incredibly, he hadn't felt a thing.Brian and I sat, open-jawed. There were no words to say. Just pure unbelief.In a few moments, we gathered ourselves together. We knew what we had to do. His jacket was ruined. Brian reached forward and tapped the man on the shoulder. We explained what had happened and offered to pay for the cleaning of the jacket, or buy him a new one.He smiled at us and refused. He was kind, chuckling about how old the jacket was, saying it wasn’t worth replacing. I was stunned.He offered mercy and forgiveness.Gratefully, we took it.The parade was lovely, but the memory that has stayed with me is how that man treated us. His forgiveness has never been forgotten, and it changed me. I think the world would be better if we all spewed less hate and extended more mercy.P.S. I have never taken hot chocolate on the road again.
