After a week of typical Oklahoma spring weather (read: consecutive evenings spent feeding your toddler dinner in a closet to the tune of tornado sirens blaring in the background), let's just say that our garden was loving the saturated soil from the torrential rainstorms that had recently blown through. Our squash and okra plants had at least doubled in size, and our strawberries were growing wild. The field in which I decided to park my new SUV at Saturday's local arts festival, however, was not so cooperative...
Have you ever made a decision and immediately wished you could take it back? For example, when you look around to see other vehicles parked in a seemingly well-drained field, and then suddenly feel your own tires slowing into a sludge of muck? Yup. Well, that was me. I was stuck. Really stuck.
But, there was nothing I could do, and my tiny blonde passenger wasn't much for helping dig me out of the mud... so, we went on to the festival and enjoyed the sunny afternoon.
When it was finally time to go home, I buckled my exhausted mini-me into her carseat, where she immediately fell asleep. Then, I sat in the front seat...and sat...dreading the phone call I was about to make. Maybe I should just take care of this myself and call a tow truck. Or maybe my dad... surely, he wouldn't tell on me. For some reason, I was so frustrated that I had gotten myself into this situation, and I couldn't fix it on my own.
Some women may have been on the phone with their husbands long before now, demanding/crying for help... but that's not typically my style. I like to exercise my own capabilities first - normally - but, this time, I was clearly out of my element, not to mention deep in mud. So, I picked up the phone and called him.
He was at home refinishing our kitchen cabinets and had been working hard all day while I had been out playing. I dreaded his response. Not to mention, we had been in a recent disagreement only hours before, and I was sure I had it coming to me. Call it pride, call it what you want. I braced myself for a lecture.
Our phone conversation was pleasantly short, much to my delight, and he was soon on his way. But then ... Oh, he's just saving it until he can question/lecture me in person, surely... I thought to myself. But 15 minutes later, he arrived with a smile, a slight shake of his head, and immediately started rolling up his sleeves. No questions, no lecturing, not even a joke about my situation. He literally got down in the mud and began coaching me through reverse-neutral-accelerate-reverse and back again, as he alternated from the front to the back of my vehicle, pushing with the strength of superman. Twenty minutes later, with a final push, I felt my tires grasp solid ground, and as I accelerated, I was suddenly free!!
As my tires spun out of the 8-inch-deep tracks they were in, they flung mud all over him - he was literally covered head to toe. Below is a picture after he had cleaned up enough to drive our other vehicle home... you get the idea.
What if we always honored each other - not only spouses, but friends, coworkers, acquaintances - the way that my husband showed me honor, when I least deserved it? What if we served others without expecting anything in return, even when we may be the ones who end up with mud all over us? What if, instead of calling out each other's mistakes, we just showed up and rolled up our sleeves and got to work, helping where needed most?
In fact, Sunday's sermon was over this exact topic! [I love when God speaks directly to me] Our preacher said that the "true test of honor" is whether you can honor someone when you've seen all their weaknesses and failures (aka all the "dirt" in their life).
It seems like such a simple illustration of honor, but this weekend's events truly impacted me. My husband could've easily shown up and been more focused on my mistake than in helping me dig my way out of the mud; instead, he honored me for who I am (his wife!) instead of stumbling over who I am not (a great driver ; )
So, I leave you with the same questions that I am now also challenged with..How often do you honor the people in your life? Your spouse? Your children? Your parents? Do you focus on their mistakes and shortcomings, or do you find the treasure inside of them and call out the good- regardless of how deserving you may feel they are?
May we learn to love each other for the sake of loving, and not expecting anything in return.
-L
P.S. I highly recommend listening to Sunday's message on honor here. (Antioch Community Church)
Have you ever made a decision and immediately wished you could take it back? For example, when you look around to see other vehicles parked in a seemingly well-drained field, and then suddenly feel your own tires slowing into a sludge of muck? Yup. Well, that was me. I was stuck. Really stuck.
But, there was nothing I could do, and my tiny blonde passenger wasn't much for helping dig me out of the mud... so, we went on to the festival and enjoyed the sunny afternoon.
When it was finally time to go home, I buckled my exhausted mini-me into her carseat, where she immediately fell asleep. Then, I sat in the front seat...and sat...dreading the phone call I was about to make. Maybe I should just take care of this myself and call a tow truck. Or maybe my dad... surely, he wouldn't tell on me. For some reason, I was so frustrated that I had gotten myself into this situation, and I couldn't fix it on my own.
Some women may have been on the phone with their husbands long before now, demanding/crying for help... but that's not typically my style. I like to exercise my own capabilities first - normally - but, this time, I was clearly out of my element, not to mention deep in mud. So, I picked up the phone and called him.
He was at home refinishing our kitchen cabinets and had been working hard all day while I had been out playing. I dreaded his response. Not to mention, we had been in a recent disagreement only hours before, and I was sure I had it coming to me. Call it pride, call it what you want. I braced myself for a lecture.
Our phone conversation was pleasantly short, much to my delight, and he was soon on his way. But then ... Oh, he's just saving it until he can question/lecture me in person, surely... I thought to myself. But 15 minutes later, he arrived with a smile, a slight shake of his head, and immediately started rolling up his sleeves. No questions, no lecturing, not even a joke about my situation. He literally got down in the mud and began coaching me through reverse-neutral-accelerate-reverse and back again, as he alternated from the front to the back of my vehicle, pushing with the strength of superman. Twenty minutes later, with a final push, I felt my tires grasp solid ground, and as I accelerated, I was suddenly free!!
As my tires spun out of the 8-inch-deep tracks they were in, they flung mud all over him - he was literally covered head to toe. Below is a picture after he had cleaned up enough to drive our other vehicle home... you get the idea.
What if we always honored each other - not only spouses, but friends, coworkers, acquaintances - the way that my husband showed me honor, when I least deserved it? What if we served others without expecting anything in return, even when we may be the ones who end up with mud all over us? What if, instead of calling out each other's mistakes, we just showed up and rolled up our sleeves and got to work, helping where needed most?
In fact, Sunday's sermon was over this exact topic! [I love when God speaks directly to me] Our preacher said that the "true test of honor" is whether you can honor someone when you've seen all their weaknesses and failures (aka all the "dirt" in their life).
It seems like such a simple illustration of honor, but this weekend's events truly impacted me. My husband could've easily shown up and been more focused on my mistake than in helping me dig my way out of the mud; instead, he honored me for who I am (his wife!) instead of stumbling over who I am not (a great driver ; )
So, I leave you with the same questions that I am now also challenged with..How often do you honor the people in your life? Your spouse? Your children? Your parents? Do you focus on their mistakes and shortcomings, or do you find the treasure inside of them and call out the good- regardless of how deserving you may feel they are?
May we learn to love each other for the sake of loving, and not expecting anything in return.
-L
P.S. I highly recommend listening to Sunday's message on honor here. (Antioch Community Church)
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