Sometimes Accidents Happen…

Sometimes accidents happen, and sometimes we accidentally hurt others without meaning to.

Thanks, Annie and Josiah!

Let’s talk about what unloving behavior we saw in the video.

First of all, there was an accident, and Annie’s hand was hurt. Annie did not respond lovingly at all! She immediately believed the worst of Josiah; she exploded with blame and anger, showing him with her attitude that she believed he hurt her on purpose. She nursed her hurt and made it seem bigger than it really was, taking offense and adding it to the physical pain in her hand. She jumped to the conclusion that Josiah should be punished for what he had done to her, and called out to Mom to bring justice to the situation.

Josiah, in turn, had no care for anyone but himself. He did not notice or care that he accidentally hurt his sister. He did not stop to see if she was okay or take the time to be concerned about her. When Annie’s blame and accusation came blowing his way, he denied that he had done anything, instead of taking responsibility for the accident and the hurt he may have caused.

Lots of unloving-ness going on here!

Now let’s talk about what loving behavior we saw in the redo part.

Oops! There was an accident, and Annie’s hand got hurt. Annie’s natural reaction was to say, “Ouch!” Even though she was a little hurt, she believed the best of Josiah; she believed that he hadn’t meant to hurt her, and that he didn’t do it on purpose. Josiah was immediately concerned about Annie’s hand, and stopped to make sure she was okay. He expressed that he was sorry, basically taking responsibility for what he had accidentally done. Annie quickly made up her mind to let the pain in her hand go away without nursing it or pouting about it. Then they both smiled and went on their way to do whatever they had been heading to do in the first place, without any explosions, hurt feelings, or the need to call Mom in to punish anyone.

Accidents happen! What matters is how we respond when it happens. We can choose to be loving or not. What about you? How do you usually deal with accidents?

I pray the Holy Spirit, through your conscience, will remind you to always give the loving response and to respond correctly and lovingly when accidents happen.

Love,

Rachel (and video team)

Do-Over Duos—Sometimes Accidents Happen