Lesson Learned

I'd call him Mi.

I wouldn't call him the best person in the world. If he didn't have to be where I am, I really wouldn't care who he was. I am grateful, though, that sometimes God chooses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise or the 'wise' like me. Today Mi has taught me something about God, I would like to tell you how.

I am at the office.

(You know how I sleep late), really I've just taken coffee, I'm half asleep half awake, working without thinking really just passing through but busy though. My heart then picks a conversation between the boss and Mi. It's about the need for a storage drive, so I tell to my boss that I have a bunch of these in the trunk of my ride.

I gave Mi my Car Key.

Been the nice guy that I am: I offer one of my re-writable CDs. And been pre-occupied, I give Mi my keys to retrieve one of the discs and be back quick or so we thought.

Mi isn't back for an hour.

Truth is because I'm so busy and more awake at this time, I wasn't even bothered. Except one of my bosses asked if the car's parked at home. I laughed, but I still wasn't bothered. Justifiably so really, because Mi is back as bubbly as he left. He drops my keys, I make a joke, Mi laughs and we leave. Everyone's fine.

The security guys call.

Usually, this is not unusual. The call when your car is blocking a path in the car park, they call when they find an item that belongs to you somewhere in the building, they call if you have a guest, they call when you've ordered Chinese and the delivery guy is downstairs. But this time it's unusual because rather than ask me over to their desk, they say they need to come see me.

Down at the car park.

It's a full body length scratch, like tribal marks. Deep dents too on the car beside me. Mi should have picked CDs from my trunk, however, not satisfied with the lacuna between my car and the next, he decides to realign them in such a way that friction is involved. Imperfect friction that is...both cars are badly dented.

Anger doesn't describe the feeling.

I don't mean to be dramatic, but I love my cars (Durotimi and now Opemipo). A scratch on them creates a cornucopia embellished with flowery feelings ranging from anger to hurt and then near madness...just downright insanity. Apparently, I am prone to these outbursts, so Mi has gone to hide and he asks the security guys to beg on his behalf. In truth, I felt differently. I wasn't really angry. I didn't take the lift, I took the stairs and I had forgiven Mi by the time I got to the 9th floor. I didn't get the chance to talk to him until evening and we had a civilized conversation actually.

In my mind.

I didnt say much: I understood that I had to grant forgiveness just as I always receive freely from God and I told Mi I had forgiven him. "..forgive our trespasses as we forgive" wasn't mere words, it was a code of conduct, an indirect threat from God if you will. Truly God forgives. Truly I had forgiven. There was however the case of trust like a house of cards, it's something that is built. I can forgive a thief for robbing me, but I wouldn't leave my house open when he's in the area. He had broken trust and it was something I couldn't give even if I wanted to. Yes God forgives, like I had, but could Mi be trusted with anything at all that I priced. Forgiveness wasn't missing but trust was broken.

That's when it hit me...I was Mi.

***This is for Tofunmi, I hope you get the lesson.