Jeff Benedict: Child offers lesson in patience, forgiveness

In my haste to run to Clancy, I hadn't noticed that the truck had started rolling down the hill and was headed for a tree. Lydia managed to jump in the cab and stop it in the nick of time. When she emerged from the cab, we discovered that she had a large gash on her head. I had hit the coop with such force that the rear corner went into her head when she was raising the legs. If she had been looking up instead of down, the gash would have went right down the middle of her face.

None of this is easy to admit or write. So I'm going to stop here and simply say that Clancy came away from all that with a sore shoulder and two large cuts across the back of his calf. No broken bones. Not even any stitches. A man who was helping us that day witnessed the whole scene and said that it was "a miracle" that Clancy didn't have a crushed chest, if not worse.

Lydia required stitches. Our family doctor ended up running to the pharmacy, purchasing super glue and using it to close her wound.

But the real story here is the way my child treated me. He kept telling me that it wasn't my fault; that it was an accident; that he loved me.

I felt so guilty. I had frightened him. I had hit him. I even wounded my wife. I wanted to punish myself. Yet all I got was instant, unconditional forgiveness.

I wish I were more like a child, especially when it comes to forgiveness.

Jeff Benedict is a special features contributor for Sports Illustrated and the author of 11 books. His website is www.jeffbenedict.com.