Yesterday, I had an opportunity to give someone grace.

Before you might think how wonderful I was, I need to give some background.

I took my dogs to be groomed at a pet store. It shall remain unnamed. But it was in another state, so that’s pretty anonymous.

I had an appointment the day before for another one of my dogs. I was running 15 minutes late and called the salon. The person who answered said — “That’s o.k. We have a break after each grooming, so even getting here 20 minutes late is fine.”

All went well.

The next day I had an appointment to get my other dog groomed (they didn’t have two available the day before). Again, I was running late but this time only ten minutes! I remembered what the girl yesterday had said — that it didn’t matter — so I walked in, all smiles, and was greeted by someone I hadn’t met the day before. She looked at me sternly and said, “Just to let you know, we have a 15-minute grace period, so if you were five more minutes late, you would have had to reschedule.

My smile disappeared. I felt attacked!

Then she said, “We also need to see your dog’s vaccination record.” Luckily, I had thought ahead on that one and had it on my phone. But the day before I had not been required to show it.

At this point her tone got even worse as she said, “I am the salon manager, and we have to go by these rules.” When I told her they didn’t have to yesterday, she looked concerned.

I understood about them needing to follow the rules, but the tone of her voice and the look on her face were not at all welcoming, so I told her.

“The girl who helped me yesterday was much nicer.” (I have been known to “tell it like it is,” maybe too often.)

When I returned to pick up my dog, an interesting opportunity presented itself. The store manager and the regional guy that visits all the salons in the area to monitor how they are doing were there. I realized who they were after chatting for a minute while the groomer finished my dog.

“So you guys are here to check them out and see how they are doing?” I asked.

“Yes we are,” one of them said.

As the salon manager stood behind the counter, I noticed she looked at me. Could I make or break her job? Lucky for her, I had had time to cool off after our initial encounter. But I still thought to myself — she is wondering (and scared) what I will say to them.

“They do a great job here,” I said enthusiastically. And this was true. My dogs both looked great, and I was pleased.

We chatted a few more minutes as they looked at some records and observed the groomers. I noticed the salon manager relax, but she still glanced at me occasionally.

Grace.

We all need it. We all want it. And God gives it to us every single day.

It was a good reminder for me. And I realized that next time (there are always these opportunities!), I might not have the “cooling off” period. I need to take a breath, count to ten or 100, and be kind in these situations.

I’m reminded of the hymn that begins with these words: “Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt . . .” It’s based on Romans 5:20, which says, “But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” (NIV)

What a great reminder. Because next time, it might be me needing grace.