Pies and People-A Memory

My Prince of Danville-

I know I shared this with you on Thanksgiving but I want to officially get it on the record!

This is a fact.

"One day one of your children will ruin one of your wife's pies."

I remember it so clearly. We were rushing out the door to be able to make it to GG's for a party and my job was to carry a pie to the car. My mom had worked all day on the pies. She made them lattice-top. Mine was Cherry. That was my favorite.

I can't remember to tell you what happened as I approached the two stairs that led to the car but the end result was a lattice-top, cherry pie...

upside down. On the ground.

Memaw was so mad and especially now, I don't judge her for that. She had worked hard and money was scarce.

We were Lathrop's. An upside-down, grounded cherry pie was a deep loss.

She yelled at me and scolded me good and that's were the memory ends. Some may count that as a parenting failure but I think the beauty is in the fact that that memory stays with me. In fact, it was immediate in my mind Thanksgiving Day, 2010....

When you stepped in my Pumpkin pie.

Daddy was furious. We were late and you had been warned to be careful. We are Harmlesses. A half-squished Pumpkin pie is deep loss. Even WE don't like to eat pie that somebody has stepped in.

He yelled at you. Scolded you good! Some would count that as a parenting failure except for....

Upside-down, grounded, cherry pie.

With your head down and a broken spirit, I remembered my own pie catastrophe. I couldn't let you be alone in your shame.

"Sambo...Mommy isn't mad. When I was your age, I dropped my mom's lattice-top cherry pie and so I know how you feel. I forgive you. I love you."

The Simple Truth....

Forgiveness is contagious.

and

People are more important than pie.

Luke 7:44- "Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”