As my 16 year old son would put it: “That skunk did us
wrong.”
At four A.M. yesterday morning I was roused from my bed, not by a
sound but by a stink. Some black and
white thing out there in the yard got scared.
Most likely it was spooked by that coy dog that’s been milling about
lately, eyeballing Cosette and Domino.
He might have learned the hard way what happens when you
mess with that particular brand of “all God’s creatures.”
For me, it was a not-so-subtle reminder of the negative side
of this 31 day topic. Our reaction to
fear will impact the atmosphere of our lives.
In particular, I want to consider the defensive response to insecurity
(an insidious and well documented kind of fear), and what courage might look
like as an alternative.
How do you react when your back’s against the wall?
I was recently misunderstood over the way I handled a
scheduling problem at my job. Oh
friends, how immediately I jumped to my own defense, afraid perhaps that
someone might think me incompetent, or even, God forbid, less than
intelligent. Listening to my tone as I
defended myself and feeling the indignation rise within was like a blast
of skunk spray, leaving everyone in the vicinity, including me, ESPECIALLY ME, with
that lingering yuck for a while. There’s
no tomato juice bath for that kind of mess.
Repentance is the only cure.
By the way, and just for fun, have you ever heard this great
expression:
“It is better to
remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open one’s mouth and remove all
doubt.”
OK, back to the point.
Contrast that with Smitty, my main squeeze. He made a mistake at work, which I can assure
you is rare! (He’s one humble smarty-pants…but
I digress). And no doubt with some
trepidation, he went to his supervisor and owned the thing. I think she was probably dumbfounded for a
minute, since this is not the way human beings typically operate (especially
those with Y chromosomes). And I believe
from what I heard about her reaction that Stephen left the good fragrance of everyday
courage in her office.
That’s what courage is.
It’s a lofty and lovely fragrance, bringing beauty to the person
stretched out to be a little brave, and to all within its perimeter. The aroma of simple acts of daily courage can
change the place you work, you live, you worship, you learn, you play. How priceless is it that you can be a bouquet
wherever you go?
For every person, the thing that will trigger insecurity
and the defensive posture that follows is different. What if today, when your motives are
wrongly judged, or your pride is injured, instead of putting up your tail you
followed the way of The Master?
“When he was reviled,
he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but
continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” 1 Peter 2:23
What if today instead of the reek of fear, we left the perfume of grace?
I can tap the
keys, but can I walk the walk? Help me
Jesus. I don’t want to stink up the
room.
Your friend on the pilgrim road,
Loriann
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