1987 The time that I needed to ask for forgiveness

A woman by the name of Ms. Gigi (we called her sister Gigi) went to Shiloh Christian Church then on Prospect Ave. in West Hartford ran errands and needed help at the Supermarket so my older brother 13 & me 9 went with her to then Copaco Supermarket (now Stop & Shop) in Bloomfield. Sister Gigi did her shopping and you know how when you are a kid in a supermarket you see things that interest's you at the checkout line (like candy for instance). Well, sister Gigi said to me, "Pick out anything you want but it can only be one thing and I will buy it for you!" I was 9 and even though at that age I thought I knew what I wanted to get so I hesitantly picked & finally deciding that I wanted TWIX candy bar. Sister Gigi aksed, "Are you sure this is what you want to get?" I had a chance to change my mind but decided I was going to get TWIX (boy I wished I would have gotten the gum).

Meanwhile, My older brother knew off the bat what he wanted to pick for sister Gigi to purchase and it was something I should have picked out. My brother picked out Bubblicius Bubble gum. The reason why my older brother picked out a better choice than I did because his would last longer like a week or 2 weeks because bubble gum has so many pieces. I started to realize as I was eating my TWIX, that the Twix was going to be all gone that same day, that I should have chosen gum from the get go. Anyway, what did I do in that situation, what any child would do I said, "Sister Gigi I wanted the gum." Sister Gigi responded, "Now Paul you said to me that you wanted TWIX and I paid for you to get TWIX because you told me that was what you wanted." I answered, "But I meant to get bubble gum like my brother got." Sister Gigi replied, "Paul you should not have chosen TWIX if you was not sure that that was what you wanted. I paid for you to get TWIX and that's it, you can't have both TWIX & gum." I threw a tantrum and didn't speak to sister Gigi on the whole ride home. Naturally, I was upset with sister Gigi and told my mom why I was so upset. My mom told me good advice that I needed to hear and my mom simply told me, "Paul you were wrong for the way that you acted towards sister Gigi because sister Gigi paid for you to get TWIX and sister Gigi didn't have to buy you anything. Sister Gigi was nice enough to think of you and your older brother when y'all went with her to the store. I think that you need to ask sister Gigi for forgiveness." Those words admitting that you were wrong is words that you never want to hear especially when you're a kid and it's true that you were wrong. I remember wrestling with this and I will never forget what happened that Sunday when we all went to church. I went up to sister Gigi and I remember telling her these very words, "Sister Gigi, I am sorry for the way I acted towards you at the supermarket and I was wrong. Will you please forgive me?" Sister Gigi responded with a smile, "Yes I forgive you!" Me & sister Gigi greeted each other (hugged each other) and I learned a very important lesson on repenting when I am wrong.