Forgiveness Small & BIG

Bonus post for today! 

This morning Teresa and I were leaving a farewell coffee in town.  As I was backing out, I was paying attention to the ladies in the van beside me, thinking about how bad this cold was making me feel, and then I heard and felt it.  A sickening crunch followed by an abrupt stop.  I looked behind me.
I didn't even see that car.
I got out and checked out the situation.  It wasn't too bad--a dent in the other car above the rear tire and some scratches on my bumper.  In tears, I went into the church to find the owner.  It was our local Methodist pastor.
As I gave her my insurance information and apologized over and over (I know you're not supposed to apologize in an accident situation, but there was no arguing this was totally my fault!), she assured me it was just a car and it was OK.
She asked if it was my first time getting into an accident like that, and when I told her it was, she smiled and said, "Now you have that one out of the way.  Don't let this ruin your day." 
David had pretty much the same reaction when I came home in tears and relayed the story to him. 
I still feel pretty stupid about the whole situation, but I have also spent the rest of the day feeling forgiven.  That has made all the difference.
I have been spending this past week reading Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza.  She survived the Rwandan Holocaust in 1994 by crouching and praying with 6 women in a 4 foot x 3 foot bathroom for three months.  They were almost discovered and killed several times because of their tribal connection.  Even after they were able to leave the bathroom to go to a French camp, their lives were still in danger.  By the end of the genocide, only she and her brother, who was studying in Senegal, survived from her immediate family.
What is absolutely amazing to me is that she was given the grace to forgive the killers who took the lives of hundreds of thousands of Rwandans, including those closest to her.  She was even given the chance to forgive some of them face to face. 
My experience and Immaculee's don't belong in the same blog post.  Or even the same blog.
But, forgiveness is a beautiful thing.  Small or BIG.