extend a little

tonight at christmas play practice my car got backed into. it was sitting in the parking lot and the back of a van and the front of my car, who must have caught each others headlights across the lot, decided to meet. it was love at first smash.
it was a complete accident; one that i know all too well. i have hit many cars and countless stationery objects. currently my side mirror is missing and there is a mailbox on old frederick road with no door and a dent in the side.
when i was told the news the first word that came to my mind was grace. you see, there was a grey honda parked in my driveway owned by one of my college students. as we backed out of the driveway destined for starbucks and a carmel latte, something stopped me.....it was her car. as we surveyed the damage my stomach dropped into my feet. i knew i couldn't afford to fix it.
we kept our plans, even though the latte didn't quite taste the same. as she left she told me "no worries." i knew i had to pay for my actions and i offered to give her a small amount in retribution. again she said, "no worries."several months later i saw her and her car had brand new clear, red taillights. she had fixed her car and i hadn't paid a penny.
as i remembered the incident i decided to do the same. then the thought hit me, if everyone extends grace to just one person and that person to another, and that person to another and so on, then there would be a lot less law suits, fights and resentment. just one act of grace could change the world. i know it changes the world to the person who receives it.