Two times in two days, I have had the opportunity to gloat and say "I told you so" and scold others for their wrongdoing. But I didn't. I am not perfect. And by no means do I enjoy someone standing in front of me, rubbing my nose in it when I screw up. But really, this post isn't about that. It's just two stories about two separate events that have happened in the past two days.
Yesterday, we had Isa's first parent teacher conference. With the same teacher who told me to not enroll her into kindergarten early because she was not ready. The same teacher who gave me endless reasons that Isa would fail. Yesterday, we got a report card full of S's and S+'s and +'s. She had maybe three marks of things that could improve. Yesterday, the teacher went through a math test that was given en Espanol that my daughter FLEW through and mastered. And yesterday, the teacher, who did not believe in my child's success, looked Jose and I in the eyes and told us that we did the right thing by enrolling Isa early and that waiting a year would have been detrimental. We didn't gloat or dance around, rubbing it into her face...we smiled, said thank you, and continued through the conference.
Today, McDonalds called me. I filed a complaint on Halloween after we went through the drive thru with the kids and were treated HORRIBLY. A manager called me today to follow up. She asked me to re-explain what happened. So I did. And she apologized and asked how to fix it. I told her there was nothing we needed. That we would continue to go there to eat. That we do not need free food or coupons to apologize. She was humiliated that someone that she manages acted towards us, in front of our children, and she was vulnerable. I could have ridiculed her, shaken my finger at them, used someone's shortcomings for my personal gain, but I told her no. I just wanted the company to know and to manage the situation so that no one else had to feel as disrespected as we did. I told her thank you and I hung up the phone.
I'm not trying to say this to brag on what an amazing person I am. I'm not writing this at all for self-promotion. I had to step back from each situation, as well as many others that I face each day, and assess what's going on before reacting, or else I couldn't have handled them so well. And I don't always do so well. I fall flat on my face SO OFTEN. I come face to face with my humanity and my emotional connections to things so much. But, I'm working on it. And, through a ton of circumstances that were against my control and that I did not want to endure, God has taught me patience. And forgiveness. And to work hard at it. I see how it is coming into work in my life. Five years ago, I would have looked at the teacher smugly and allow her to see the "I told ya so" smirk go across my face. Five years ago, I would have asked the manager at McDonalds what they were willing to give me to keep me as a customer, knowing full and well that I would have gone back nevertheless. Five years ago, I was short tempered, snippy, and smug. I am so blessed to have been broken. I thank God for it every day, even on the days when I cry myself to sleep from the pain. I see how He has broken me to fix me, how he has snapped me apart to make me stronger.
So, I'm remaining humble...but if I can't brag, just a little bit, on my blog, where can I? But be sure of this, I'm bragging on my God, an awesome God, not on myself.
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