Things Happen

It has been a painful month for many people in our nation as well as around the world with the shooting down of our Malaysian Airlines MH17 as well as the Taiwanese and Algerian plane crashes all happening within a week.

I also know of a passing of a wonderful young man, someone whom I didn't know personally, but he had been to our church to conduct free guitar lessons for some of our youths. He had been Leukaemia-free for a few months before experiencing a relapse. He left behind a young wife and a 3 year old daughter.

Some things are beyond our control and we can only pray for peace and comfort for those who are grieving over the loss of their loved ones.

What I've learnt is that life on earth is not always a pleasant journey. Just as rain falls on the good and the bad without discrimination, we are glad when things go well but bad things sometimes happen to good people as well and vice versa. The way we respond to these situations is what makes the difference. We can either retaliate in anger or respond with grace.

A few days ago, a 14 year old motorcyclist riding without a license was speeding on his father's motorbike and crashed into my car behind the passenger-side door as I waiting at the traffic lights. Thankfully he only had minor cuts and bruises. His bike was badly damaged and a part of his bike had cut right through my car tyre causing a puncture. A portion of my back bumper was also dented. My car is only 10 months old.

Damaged tyre rim and a large cut on the left

Of course I was furious at first. But causing a scene (with or without a steering lock...some of you would understand what I mean. *wink*) would not bring about much good result, other than getting my face posted all over Facebook! Hubby had told me earlier over the phone that he was coming home early that day, and guess who was just passing by when I was standing by the side of the road talking to the injured motorcyclist! I was glad to have hubby around as I wasn't sure what to do. The motorcyclist looked quite frightened when I asked for his father's phone number.

The next thing I knew, the 14 year old kid's older brother also passed by on the same road on his way home from work and stopped to see what was going on. Firstly he gave his kid brother a good scolding and then he came over to offer compensation. They aren't very well-to-do people and at one point we just wanted to drop the whole matter and let them off the hook since the damage to my car wasn't too great. But the other guy gave his phone number and said he would compensate us.

We got the repairs done the next day amounting to around RM250 and hubby contacted the kid's brother to ask for half the amount. I'm glad the matter got settled in a calm manner. Sometimes being level-headed and showing a bit of kindness to someone else is just the antidote to selfishness and revenge in this imperfect world that we live in.