A Brick Or A Feather?

The other day, emerging from Wal-Mart after an hour of sheer retail nirvana into a bright, sunny, breezy and cool afternoon, I donned my shades and headed for my adorable auto with the personalized plates. Spying said flivver from afar, I did a double-take. WHAT WAS AMISS WITH MY BUMPER? From where I was it looked like a twelve-inch vertical gash had been added to the far left side. It had not been there when I entered the store and my first thought was that, while I had been shamelessly reveling in the heady atmosphere that is Wally World, someone had backed into my car and vamoosed without waiting to say how sorry they were or providing their insurance information. I mentally dialed our lovely Allstate agent and could almost hear her soft good-natured chuckle as I inconsolably sobbed the sad news.

What is important is that both our actions and the motives behind them are consistent with the truth God has revealed to us.

But wait ... the closer I got to my car, the more the mysterious crease began to look like something else. I took off my sunglasses and leaned down real close. Nothing had hit my car! Nothing, that is, except two feathers. They were stretched out end-to-end, still connected at the quills. They were dark brown, which is why from forty paces the straight line they formed had looked like a crack in the bumper. What a relief! I wouldn't have to explain to TG that I knew nothing about it, that I had not backed into a light pole -- or worse yet, another car -- at Wal-Mart, and we would not have to file a claim on our insurance! It was nothing ... nothing at all to worry about.

Occasionally situations "hit" us that feel like bricks, when in reality they present no more danger than being pelted with feathers. The strange thing is, often we react and feel just as hurt by the feather strike as we would have if someone had lobbed a brick at our head. Usually pride is involved ... ours, that is. Frequently, however, there are a number of variables and not all can be readily identified in the heat of the moment. It is those times when we must learn to step back, methodically scan a pre-memorized checklist of priorities, and get back on track with as little drama and fuss as possible.

What is really important? That we are vindicated, recognized as having been right all along? That those who have "misunderstood" us look again, realize their error, and beg our forgiveness? No. In fact, those things are near the bottom of the list. What is important is that both our actions and the motives behind them are consistent with the truth God has revealed to us. To the extent they are not we ought to correct our error, learn from the mistake, and move on.

To the extent our priorities and the actions resulting from them upset someone else with a different set of priorities, their judgment (which may feel like a ruthless, unforgiving brick) must be gauged from that standpoint. Then we will see that what had at first been assessed as serious damage from the blow was really only an optical illusion. It was the imprint of a couple of feathers that, once peeled away and released upon the wind, can serve as wings to carry the phantom pain aloft into the heavens. God takes over from there.

Comments

[iflylowsc]

How true--beautifully expressed! I'm glad your car is intact too.

[Jennifer]

Thanks ... LOL! Me too.

[Keli]

I too have these "optical illusions" sometimes. They usually occur when I'm in some sort of state of disharmony. And when I discover them to be illusions, I feel grateful and snap out of it.