Wednesday, September 12, 2012

A Coke and a Smile

We had a great vacation last week, but I really have missed you.  It is nice to be back.  I have a few posts swirling around in my head right now.   This one is a Luke story...no, not the Luke of the Bible, my seven year old Luke.

There are many Luke stories.  A couple of stories include the time Luke put underwear on his head at school (oh yes he did), and the time Luke ran out of the bathroom at school buck-naked (thankfully no one saw but his teacher).

He just dances to the beat of a different drum with a carefree spirit.  We know and believe God has a great plan for Him. 

God has used Luke to teach me volumes about grace and patience. {smile} 

So, the Luke story today starts with a Coke and a smile.

Knowing our son, we really shouldn't have let him have the Coke.  We were at a wedding in Michigan a couple weeks ago.  My husband's brother was getting married.  It was an outdoor wedding and they were serving drinks before the ceremony. 

An outdoor wedding lends itself to different allowances than more formal church weddings.  One allowance was many of the guests brought their drinks to the ceremony.  It was hot outside and it seemed acceptable to have drinks at the ceremony. 

Chris eyed me with the look indicative with "Is it a good idea for him to have that Coke?"  Caffeine and Luke are not a good combination.  I answered back, "It is fine.  Worst thing that could happen is he spills it on his shirt, right?" 

Yes, you guessed it.   Luke did spill the brown soda down his white collared shirt. 

Then... within seconds, he cut his finger on the can's opening.  Blood started oozing from his finger and tears streamed down his cheeks as he lamented in pain.

We finally got wise and took the Coke can away so it could do no more harm.  Everything was well while we enjoyed the beautiful ceremony.

Then, at the end of the ceremony, I gave him back his Coke.  Yes, you are right...nothing good could come of this. 

We got in line to congratulate the bride and groom.

I hugged the bride.

Luke hugged the bride (while holding his Coke can).

It was like it was in slow motion.  The moment I saw the Coke can I began reaching for it, saying "Noooo Luuuukkkeee".  I was too late.  His Coke had also hugged the lovely bride and left a nice caramel colored trail on her pristine white dress to prove it. 

Immediately, my heart sank as I apologized to the bride.  Her dress!  You know, THE DRESS!

However, she handled it with the grace of a princess, she smiled and said "It happens all the time.  No worries.  I have a stain stick that will get it right out.  Don't worry about it."
 
Luke and I were both relieved.  It happens all the time, really?  How gracious.  She could have gotten upset.  After all, this was her day and this is the dress she envisioned herself wearing probably since childhood.

However...she knew it was an accident.  She knew Luke didn't intend to spill Coke on her dream dress.  She gave him grace, the greatest gift one can give another.  

Grace.  We all blunder.  We all make silly mistakes.  What if we all gave each other the same grace the bride gave my son that day?  What if we let love wipe each mishap away like the stain stick wiped away the Coke stain? 

A man's wisdom gives him patience.  It is to his glory to overlook an offense. Proverbs 19:11

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.  Col 4:6

The world needs to see God's loving grace through His people.  It is only by grace that we, the bride of the Bridegroom, can overlook an offense and smile. 











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