When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school.
I don’t remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite! When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I’ll never forget what he said: “Honey, I love burned biscuits.”
Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, “Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she’s real tired. And besides – a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!”
You know, life is full of imperfect things… and imperfect people.
I’m not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. What I’ve learned over the years is that learning to accept each others faults – and choosing to celebrate each others differences – is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.
“Don’t put the key to your happiness in someone else’s pocket – keep it in your own.” So… please pass me a biscuit, and yes, the burned one will do just fine! And please pass this along to someone who has enriched your life… I just did. Life is too short to wake up with regrets…
Love the people who treat you right and forgive the ones who don’t.
[From Marsha: I must say that I sure flunk often with the ability to compliment and approve of the people who treat me with kindness and generosity. I love reminders to look at that because there is so much suggestion to find fault and look for them to be even more to me.
And I also find it difficult to forgive those who are grumpy, angry and difficult to be around. It is up to me to see how I might put myself in their place, try to understand that maybe they’ve had a hard day, and in my present situation see that there is no way that they could possibly understand what it is to be blind or deaf or any other disability that is going on with people I happen to find myself around.]