“I Hated Orange Beach”

“I Hated Orange Beach”

Yesterday, my eldest daughter said she hated Orange Beach.

I only remembered laughing while zooming down the slide, sitting in the hot-tub to warm up after my daughters and I swam in one of the resort’s chilly pools, or peering into the water at the school of pink jellyfish pulsing around the marina’s docks.

I asked, “Why did you hate it?”

My daughter replied, “Because of the fire alarms.”

And then I remembered that, too.

We went to Orange Beach over fall break because it’s cheaper and there are fewer crowds. However, because of the fewer crowds, the resort began testing their fire alarms the day before we left. We mainly stayed outside at the pool and lazy river, but as nap time neared, we weren’t sure what to do.

We decided to pack everybody in the minivan and get ice-cream at a confectionary up the road. But the fire alarms were still blaring when we returned. My husband went to the main desk, to see how much longer it would be, but by the time he came back to the parking garage, the alarms were silent.

I had completely forgotten about that fire alarm episode until my daughter reminded me on Saturday, and it made me realize I also tend to blanket everything as bad if someone or something disappoints me.

This past week, I had to fight to maintain a positive outlook as I tended to view every interaction through the lens of one mistake. It was toxic, and I soon found that this mistake not only colored my memories, but it colored the present as well. This would also affect my future relationship with this person unless I chose to forgive.

So, I did. I considered how my loved one could view my entire past and our present through my own mistakes, and the result would not be pretty. I considered that the blood of Christ covers all our mistakes, and just as He is so quick to forgive and extend grace, so should I be quick to extend grace as well.

I don’t want my life—full of fun, meaning-filled moments—to be chalked up to “I hated it” like my daughter’s perspective of Orange Beach. Therefore, I am going to make sure that my perspective remains a positive, grace-filled one.

This Christmas, can you extend grace to the loved ones who have disappointed you?