More than a Little Grace

I was frustrated beyond words. Here I was, with all six children, out at a horse ranch for our scheduled riding lesson, and no instructor was in sight. And this was after she had already cancelled our lessons on two other occasions. 

What was it this time? I wondered.  

We waited ten minutes. We waited twenty. My children's excitement diminished with every passing tick of the watch. After waiting thirty minutes, we prepared to leave. That's when we finally got a hold of the instructor on the phone and tried to reschedule for another day.

Some people love to give advice in situations like this.

"Write a bad review!"

"Demand a full refund!"

"You have your rights as a customer!"

I didn't need anyone's help. My mind entertained the many things I could do to relieve my frustration and justify my ill feelings toward the instructor. And I had already bought a gift card for her as a parting gift after the last lesson. She certainly doesn't deserve that anymore! I thought.

But after my anger cooled, I decided to pray for the instructor. The few things I knew about her was that she was the mother of a baby younger than my own. She was unwed. And she was trying to move her business to a different location in hopes of making a little more for her small family. She had a lot on her plate! That doesn't excuse her flakiness, but I can certainly be understanding and give her a little grace.

Okay, I won't ask for a refund then, I decided. Besides, she offered to do some extra long lessons for the one she missed. But she is definitely NOT getting the gift card.

It was fair enough. I was still being nice. It was almost the day for our final riding lesson, and I was prepared to say a polite thank-you and leave it at that.

But something prompted me to take out my stationery and write the instructor a note. 

She really is an excellent teacher, I told myself. She at least deserves to know that.

And the more I wrote, the more I KNEW that I was going to give her the gift card after all.

A few days after the final lesson, I received an e-mail from the instructor. She thanked me for the surprise gift and told me that she had loved getting to know our large family. She was especially encouraged as a new mom, she wrote.

And then I was glad that I didn't insist on my rights as a customer. Rights have their place, but they leave little room for grace. And I was glad that I didn't stop at being nice and polite. What is grace if it doesn't go above and beyond what we think is just?

What is grace, if it is not abundant, breath-taking, immeasurable and... unexpected?