Dealing With Turkey Tossers

By Gobel Brockman


I recently read the book "Grace" by Max Lucado. It's a great book, and Max is one of my favorite authors. This is a condensed version of a story he shared in Chapter 5:

     Victoria Ruvolo had just attended her niece's recital and was returning to her Long Island home. She didn't notice the silver Nissan that approached her, or the teenager leaning out the window holding a frozen turkey, which he proceeded to throw through her windshield. It shattered the glass, bent the steering wheel, and shattered her face. The violent prank left her in ICU after doctors had wired her jaw and bolted titanium plates to her cranium.To this day every look in the mirror reminds her of that night.

     Fast forward nine months. Ryan Cushing is no longer an eighteen year old turkey-chucking punk; he's now a trembling, tearful young man about to face the responsibility for his actions in a New York courtroom. The courtroom was filled with people waiting to see this kid get what was coming to him. Their hopes were dashed and replaced with rage as the judge announced his sentence: 6 months jail, 5 year's probation, counseling, and public service. Everyone was upset at the sentence. Everyone, that is, except Victoria Ruvolo. You see, the light sentence was her idea. After the sentence was passed she embraced him, and in full view of all said, "I forgive you. I want your life to be the best it can be."

There are a few directions I could go with this. Maybe you've never had a turkey thrown at your windshield, but you could write your own book about what life has thrown at you. Your mind is daily filled with memories of all of the times you've suffered through no fault of your own. The mother or father who hurt you through abuse or neglect. The times you've suffered because of the mistakes of others. The list seems endless. Well, let me throw you a curve. I'm not going to tell you that you should wallow in your pain. Victoria Ruvolo discovered the secret - forgiveness. How could she forgive Ryan for what he had done? For the rest of her life she will carry the reminder of what he did to her. But I believe she knew the secret that we need to learn: bitterness is a bondage, but there is freedom in forgiveness. We can choose to break our backs carrying grudges around, or we can learn to forgive. Easy? No way. But that brings me to the other direction I want to go with this:

     We've all thrown turkeys in our lives.

Maybe you haven't physically been throwing turkeys (at least I hope not!), but we've all been guilty of hurting others. Have you ever gossiped about someone? Consider it a 'Fowl Fling.' Ever lied about someone to make yourself look better? Consider it a 'Turkey Toss.' I'll stop with the bird phrases, but let me continue with my questions. Have you ever dishonored your parents? Been so angry with someone that their death wouldn't have grieved you? Have you ever been jealous of a friend because you wanted what they had? But let's not stop there. Has there ever been anything in your life more important to you than God? After all, the first and greatest of the 10 Commandments is to have no other Gods before Him. I could continue, but I hope you get my point: WE'RE ALL GUILTY. And yet God in His grace has extended mercy to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our sins can be forgiven if we come to Him in faith believing. But there's a catch - He tells us to forgive others just as we have been forgiven. As I said, that's not easy. But I'm sure the cross wasn't easy either. But love made a way for us to be forgiven, and it can make a way for us to forgive. Jesus also made a point about this that we would do well to remember; He said that if we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven. Ouch. Who said Christianity was easy?

So forgive the "Turkey Tossers" in your life. It might help to remember that we've been pretty 'fowl' ourselves....