When we opened the plastic bag of chocolates from the freezer for snack there was only one left.
Reade and I had carefully saved 10 days, times two people’s worth of turn down service, cruiseship pillow chocolates for the children to enjoy once we were home.
And the day before this incident we were down to 4 chocolates. The kids then had one each for a treat.
There should have been two left.
With a quiet grin Angeline said little. She did not deny. She avoided eye contact.
Many years ago we took up the practice of using the wooden spoon as a tool for encouraging truth telling. Holding the wooden spoon, if we will tell the truth, we will be forgiven. Truth telling is a pretty standard experience. So much so that the wooden spoon has not seen the outside of the drawer for a long time.
Peeling off the the layer of hiding from the chocolate sneaking episode was a joyful, playful experience.
I walked to the drawer and handed the spoon to Angeline. She said, “I don’t really remember what to say or do. And I don’t want to say that I am sorry, because I am happy I ate the chocolate. It tasted good.”
“You don’t have to apologize for eating the chocolate! Say, ‘Mommy, I took a chocolate and hid that I took it. I’m sorry for hiding.’”
And she did. With joy in her heart and laughter in her eyes she confessed that she had hidden. Now it was in the light. The generational patterns of lying and hiding are being broken.
What generational patterns are being revealed in your life?
How do you weave practices for repair into your everyday experiences?
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