My mother once had a beautiful cut glass candy jar that was displayed on a decorative side shelf of a desk in our living room—in our house, the fancy room. It was a lower shelf, which meant it was directly in view of my four year old line of sight. I was of course drawn to it for any number of reasons, but primarily its contents. At that age and stage I could resist pretty much anything except temptation. That candy was just calling to me!
But the jar had a lid. The cut glass jar had a cut glass lid with a scalloped cut glass edge fitting atop the cut glass jar only one complicated way. Somehow I weaseled into the goods easily enough, but easing the cut glass lid back into its cut glass slots was simply beyond the capacity of my motor skills. Calamity struck!
All of a sudden all that candy lay on the floor amidst hundreds of glass shards that used to be a beautiful cut glass jar—my mother’s cut glass jar. I was filled with tearful terror. Only a moment later I sensed her standing right behind and above me. What would happen now? What on earth would become of me?
To my great surprise she sat down next to me on the carpet, and beckoned me onto her lap. She said,
“That glass jar was one of my favorite things.
It was a gift to me from my mother. I loved that
glass jar.”
“But I love you more.”
That’s the first time I really knew the power of forgiveness.
Michael Denham
Reverberating Word 