I was having one of those moments. A moment where the filter in my brain was turned off and whatever scrolled across my mind immediately exited my lips.
My boys and I were at Chic Fil A, which is our favorite fast food place. It was 2 p.m. and we were just eating lunch. So, of course, we were all cranky. We got our food and then gather up all the condiments, make it to our table and start to sort out our food. This was all feeling very stressful at the time.
Will, my 6 year old, knocked over his drink, and just a little spilled. I handed him a napkin and told him to hurry up and clean it up. And then he tried to hand the used, wet napkin back to me and I hatefully replied, "I'm not a trash can."
Normally, I wouldn't have thought much more about it and chalked it up to extreme hunger and stress. But today a mom and her 3-year-old son were sitting at a table behind us. Just after I quipped my non-trash can remark, the little boy behind me says, "Mommy, I'm not a trash can either." The mom was sweet and gentle and engaged her son in a long funny conversation about if he was a trash can or a garbage truck and which would be better.
I was horrified at my behavior. I was regretting my words. I started to wonder what that sweet, kind mother was thinking of my terse comment that I had for my sweet 6 year old. The mommy guilt was swallowing me whole. I of course regretted sounding so sharp and cranky.
The rest of lunch was uneventful. We all perked up after we had some food in our bellies and the crankiness went away. The boys got ice cream cones and all was right in the world, except for my mommy guilt.
Suddenly, Will asked me to hold his ice cream cone, and I obliged. He got up from the table and left me wondering what in the world he was doing. I watched as he walked to the condiment area, picked up a straw off the floor and followed a woman and her baby to their table. He tapped her shoulder and said, "Excuse me, but I think you dropped this." The woman was caught by surprise and thanked Will for his kindness.
I was speechless and I felt my eyes warm with tears. Will walked back over and sat down and thought nothing of his random act of kindness. He took his ice cream cone and started in eating it.
My heart was about to burst. I couldn't have been more proud of my son. My goal is to raise him to be a kind man, and this showed that he was well on his way. "I am so proud of you son. That was awesome," I said, trying not to cry in a public place.
Then I heard the voice of the woman with the little boy at the table behind me. "Yes, that was awesome," she said. "You don't see that everyday.
I turned to see her eyes filled with tears, too. She was also amazed at Will's thoughtfulness. We chit chatted a little after that and laughed at how emotional we had gotten at such a little thing.
And then, instead of feeling like a bad mom, I knew that my son's actions had redeemed me. My son's kind actions spoke louder than my cranky words.
It reminded me of another way I have been redeemed by a son. God sent His son to redeem me from my sins. Jesus' sacrifice not only redeemed me from cranky words said in public, but for every sin I have ever committed and will ever commit.
As each nail entered Jesus' hand and foot, it represented my sin. As Jesus was whipped and beaten and mocked, he suffered for the things I have done. As Jesus was separated from God, the unimaginable anguish he felt was because of the sins I have committed.
Jesus' actions on the cross redeemed me from a life apart from God and made it possible for me to bury my old life and live a new life in God.
As proud as I am of my son's simple kind act at Chic Fil A, I can't imagine the deep pride God must have felt when Jesus ministered to the lost and eventually sacrificed his life on the cross so I could live. There has never been a more redeeming act ever made.
And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17
