To have a heart like hers...

I don't think there are many times we can praise the internet. After all, it's used for some less-than-holy things these days, but to be able to have internet access when I want it, at a high speed, with all the bells and whistles of a broadband connection.... I just love it! :) 

I mentioned a few days ago on my Facebook page (come find me!) being humbled by a child's ability to quickly and freely forgive. I still am. Wanna hear the backstory? Of course you do - you're reading a blog. Hannah, my beloved niece, loves to wear her plastic bracelets OVER her ears as earrings. Here's a picture to illustrate (plus cause she's adorable): 

Okay, so... see the purple one on her right ear? Well, about 5 minutes after this picture, it was no more. Since I'm sooooooo smart and clever, I know you can make these bracelets intertwine, so-to-speak, despite them being made of hard plastic. Well, I had one inside the other to make a 3-D-esque shape when I decided, because I have some tinges of OCD in me, that I'd like the seams to line up. Twisting the purple one, it made a slight, sad POP and poof! The purple bracelet suddenly became something more like a purple pair of very curved tweezers. 

Hannah LOVES these bracelets. I'm talkin' meltdown-creating, throwing-self-on-the-floor-in-convulsion-when-they-are-taken-away-making, so-beloved-cannot-play-dress-up-without-them-having, LOVES them. 

I'll be honest. I thought about hiding it, throwing it away when she wasn't looking, or asking my mom, the Queen of Superglue, to fix them without telling Hannah what I'd done. Then, I thought back to all the times we've encouraged her to tell us when she's done something wrong. How nearly-militant we are in making sure she apologizes for her mistake before leaving time-out. The efforts to which we go to ensure she knows punishment is lessened with accompanied by honesty. 

I walked into time-out (where she was spending some time - without her bracelets - since she had refused to stop trying to push/ride/chase my small dog around the house), and took the bracelet with me. 

My heart was pounding a bit. It hadn't been her best day - temper tantrums had been amuck - so I really, REALLY didn't want to face another one. 

I sat down, showed her the cherished purple bracelet, and the conversation went something like this:

Me (her Tia, which is Spanish for aunt): Hannah, look what I did.

Her: In the midst of her climbing down from the chair pausing, eyes fixed squarely on the once-perfect purple circle of delight.

Me: I broke it. I'm sorry, Hannah. 

Her: Blinks, continuing to stand perfectly still. 

Her again: S'okay Tia. That happens. 

Me: Do you forgive me?

Her (said sweetly, energetically, and happily): Yup. S'okay. Was an accident.

She gave me a hug, and she bounded off to play. Actually, to torment my small dog again. But I digress... ;) 

I wish I could forgive so easily, so freely, and even in the midst of my most prized possessions - or ideas, or contributions in a Bible study, etc. - being broken or trampled upon. I had a moment where I thought, "THIS is why we are admonished to have faith like a child." I said a quick prayer - so quick I'm not sure it can even be COUNTED as a prayer - to be more like her. In forgiveness, Hannah's got me under the table. 

To have a heart like hers...