Forgiveness & Coca Cola

I was thinking recently about my grandmother who passed away when I was 18. Lord I loved that woman, she was strong in body, mind and spirit. She was wise. I remember when I had my first heartbreak she said to me it would not be my last and she was right; she said I would love again, and again. She really had a wisdom that far surpassed any education she might have had. And she ruled the family like an empress....

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...but in those heady teenage years of mine there were times when I foolishly dared to try to assert my own will over her's. I never won. While she had a quick tongue and a quicker hand when I was a child, she unleashed the most potent weapon against me as a teen; SILENCE. She would simply cut me off, not a touch, not a word, she would not even call my name. I always felt so far removed from her love in those times  that it hurt far deeper than whatever caused us to fall out in the first place.

Now in those days Coca Cola was sold in the short curvy glass bottle with 24 in a case. I've always loved Coke and so did she although as a diabetic she never ventured more than one sip from my bottle, but it was ALWAYS the first sip. One day while I was 'suffering' the 'treatment' I went and took a bottle from the fridge and opened it but there was no way I could take the first sip, just no way. To do that would cause irreparable damage, so I went sheepishly to her and extended the bottle to her in our unspoken ritual; she took it. And my world was whole once again, all was forgiven and we could carry on, move forward. After that I always used Coca Cola as my peace offering. She never refused. I never needed to say 'Im sorry' nor did she ever need to say 'I forgive you'. Offering and acceptance was enough. Of course since her passing and as I grew into adulthood I realized that she never stopped loving me; breakfast was always on the table as usual and all the things she lovingly did for the family as well. I realized her silence might not have been as much anger as it was hurt. I had hurt her. So many times she forgave me, so many sips of Coke. God Bless her.

Offering and acceptance and all is forgiven. I've come to realize that maybe God is not so much angry as he is hurt by what I do and fail to do. The remorse I feel, the repentance in my heart is all the 'first sip' offering I need to make. He'll always accept and we can move on, move forward.

But be warned: forgiveness is contagious; as we experience it we are also able to forgive others. Offering and acceptance and all is forgiven, we can move on, move forward. It's that simple, just like drinking Coca Cola. Try it. Peace.