Excuse (ik-koos) Defined
Something my girl uses to explain away—
Abandoned dirty dishes dripping in goo,
Forgotten homework completed but not turned in,
Shoes cast off in haste where everyone walks.
Excuse (ik-kooz) Defined
Grace given to cover—
My angry outburst dripping in venom,
Gentleness forgotten in the heat of the moment,
Chores, attention, and grace cast off in the haste of my day.
How similar the words look and yet how very different they are. One twists, corrupts, breaks and the other straightens, heals, forgives.
May I find the grace to cover another’s excuses and, while accepting the grace extended to me, also find the strength to confront my own excuses.
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This was written in response to the Five Minute Friday prompt: Excuse. The rules are: write for 5 minutes and no editing (although I can’t stop myself a little. I am an editor after all.).
I see how those two definitions explain so much. Love the words, Grace given to cover.
I’ve been studying the writings of St. Paul. And the definition of grace there is God’s attitude towards those who have rebelled. And isn’t that so often what we’re guilty of? And I love that grace is so often paired with mercy (God’s attitude towards those in distress)…especially when my rebellion so often leads to distress!
Love it, short and simple, to the point in a creative way.
Thanks, Kate 🙂
This is great! I like how you bring together both meanings of the word. Visiting from FMF #19.
When I saw the prompt, I immediately thought, “What word does she mean?” And then realized they really were two sides of the same coin. It was fun to play with it.
Thank you. Very poignant. “How similar the words look and yet how very different they are. One twists, corrupts, breaks and the other straightens, heals, forgives.” This is such a picture of Proverbs 16:24. I read that this morning and reading your quote is wonderful.
Beautiful, as always. 🙂 Just soaking it in.
I love this! I never thought of those words together that way. So smart.
Janyre, this is AWESOME, the different and antithetical meanings for excuse.
If I ever grow up, I wanna have a share of your insight. (Fortunately my wife enjoys, kind of, being married to someone who has 30+ years of experience being seventeen…so the chances I will ever grow up are pretty slim. But I can hope.)
#1 at FMF this week.
https://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2017/11/your-dying-spouse-406-precious.html
I like how you’ve explored (in such a creative way) the 2 meanings of this word. Not only do we make excuses for what we’ve done, we even sometimes make excuses for why we really shouldn’t excuse someone else: “They didn’t apologize” .. “If I excuse them they’ll just do it again” … “It’s not fair” … SIGH. I am so glad God’s grace and mercy are new every morning. Thanks for writing this, Janyre; I appreciate it.
Jeannie (#44 in this week’s linkup)