laughing off calamity

So lately I've been head down, nose to the grindstone at work and its looking like I will be that way through mid January. Not that I am complaining mind you, more work usually means continued employment and opportunities for new and exciting challenges. I've also had some exciting stuff happen around the house as well, so not everything has been work-work-work for me. We finally had a roofer come by to look at our leaky roof (after the heavy rains of October, go figure). On the positive side, despite a roof junction having been installed backwards (something with the shingles), there was a quick and inexpensive fix for the problem. However, when the roofer was just about finished, a gust of wind caught his ladder and blew it over... hitting my car. I was shocked and surprised, not because my car had just been hit by a large, heavy ladder, but because of the way I reacted. I could have been angry and abusive, since the ladder should have been tethered to the house (for his protection and mine), but I wasn't. I have always believed and sometimes shared with people that while I do appreciate having a car of my choice, which I maintain regularly, if something were to happen to it I wouldn't let it bother me. After all, it's just a car, a means of transportation and in the grand scheme of things not something I should be worried about. I felt proud of myself later that evening because I wasn't a hypocrite. I actually saw the whole thing as I was just walking out my front door to see how things were going, and the first thing I did was run back inside to get my keys to shut the alarm off. The second thing I did... was laugh to myself as I examined the damage. It was a funny situation, there on the peak of my roof, 2 stories up, sat the now stranded roofer. He was looking apologetic and completely embarrassed; he knew that what happened was completely his fault. I joked with him a bit while I picked the ladder up, set it back up, and held it in place until he was on his way down. We both looked at the car; the damage wasn't catastrophic, a minor dent and large scratch on the hood, and a decent dent and paint chipping on the fender. However, he knew that the repair would not be cheap since the kind and location of the damage meant a lot of labor hours and/or replacing the hood and fender.

I was proud of myself, because in a situation where I had always believed I would not lose my cool, I did just what I thought I would. I never yelled at him, in fact I was friendly and understanding. He told me right away he would pay for the repairs, and waived payment for the roof repair. The repairs to my car I figured he would (or should) offer, but waiving payment for the roof I did not expect. In fact, had he not said anything I would have asked him when to expect a bill. Maybe its because today's society is trigger-happy with lawsuits that he responded the way he did, but I'd prefer to think that he is just a honest guy who felt at ease around me. When I could have berated, I chose kindness; when I could have exploited, I chose generosity; when he apologized repeatedly, I forgave him and told him not to worry about it. It was one of those rare moments where upon reflection, I truly felt like I had shown my Christianity. I may not be a regular attendee of worship service, but in a real world situation I was practicing what I believe. Sometimes I get the feeling God is preparing me, one situation at a time, for a role that I would have never chosen for myself. Now if I could only figure what that role is...