That Was Funny
Two funny things happened to me recently. They aren’t related in any way to each other except for the way they make me laugh at myself. Then I realized one other connection this morning.
On one of our spring-like January days, I took a walk on the trail near my home. The W&OD is a former railroad track that has been paved over to provide a trail from Arlington to Purcellville in Northern Virginia. We live right across the street from the trail close to mile marker 12. Alongside the paved trail is the horse trail, a gravel path following the same route. I enjoy cutting over to the horse trail sometimes because there is less traffic. On this day, I decided to stay on the horse trail and attempt a creek crossing. The paved part of the trail goes over the creek, and is elevated compared to the gravel path leading down to the creek. It’s a nice descent to the stream, and then a good little climb back up, becoming level again with the paved trail. The water was a bit high due to recent rains, and the way across the creek involves stepping on rocks spaced in irregular intervals. I intentionally do this every now and then as an exercise in balance. If I fall, I could get wet, but probably not anything else too dramatic. On this day, I was about three or four rocks into the creek when the next step just didn’t feel comfortable. I was far enough in that going backwards wasn’t a good option, so I just stood there kind of frozen in place waiting for my balance to recenter. I tried turning my feet in a few different configurations, and then I would have to recenter again. I finally gained enough confidence for the next step, then 1-2-3, hop-skip-jump, and I was across. That’s when I heard his voice. A man was standing up above on the paved trail, and had apparently been watching me this whole time! He called out, “I knew you could do it!” I was startled, and looked up to see where the voice came from. I didn’t recognize him - just a friendly guy out enjoying the day, I guess. I laughed and called back to him, “You weren’t supposed to be watching me!” I was apparently great entertainment, and/or he was genuinely standing guard to make sure I made it across okay. It still makes me laugh when I wonder how many of my balancing moves were being observed without my knowledge.
At the end of January, Craig and I got to spend a week in Cancun with a group called Priority One. (links below) It was amazing, and relaxing, and warm and sunny! We spent the last two days completely chilling out on the beach, reading and resting - sublime. We were careful with our sunscreen and managed to not get burned. Except. The lip balm I was using and reapplying liberally turned out to NOT have any sun protection, and I woke up on the day of our departure with a severely swollen bottom lip. Like, I don’t want anybody to see this lip - it’s crazy big! I searched online for treatments, which basically there’s not much to be done except wait the 3 or 4 days it will take for your lip to get back to normal size. We headed out to breakfast, and saw a friend on the way. I held my phone in front of my face so he wouldn’t see my lip until I warned him about it. “Just to let you know, I look ridiculous - I have a sunburned lip!” Once he saw it, he just grinned and told me it looked like I had a Botox treatment.
So both of these incidents make me laugh. Craig says that it is good how I can laugh at myself. I think that is true - there are other times when I can take myself way too seriously, so letting the laughter bubble up when funny things happen is a healthy thing.
The connection I saw this morning is that with the creek incident, I thought NOBODY was looking at me. With the lip incident, I thought EVERYBODY was looking at me! I was wrong on both accounts. And that makes me laugh, too. I’m not sure what it means in every situation, but it’s true that we act differently when we are aware of being watched.
As the photo shows, my lip was swollen, but it wasn’t THAT bad! I felt insecure and self-conscious, though. When we are acutely aware of something not quite right within us, we tend to think EVERYONE sees that thing first. That they can’t see beyond that, and can’t truly love us. We are wrong when we think this way. I’m not encouraging camouflage for your soul, but I am saying don’t assume that your flaws are the most prominent feature of YOU. You are loved and accepted by God, and the healing journey helps us receive and to give unconditional love to ourselves and others. Find the confidence to let your flaws be what they are - a part of you, not the whole of you.
And then sometimes, enjoy the freedom of finding your balance as though no one is watching. Truth is, your heavenly Father is watching with a loving and protective eye, and cheering you on when you make it across whatever today’s obstacle may be. I’m cheering for you, too!
Learn more about Priority One at https://priorityonemissions.com/
Scripture Meditation and Affirmation:
Psalm 26:12 (NLT)
Now I stand on solid ground,
and I will publicly praise the Lord.
Prayer:
My precious Lord, Thank you for the chance to laugh at myself, even when - maybe especially when - I feel unsteady and unsure. You are faithful to remind me of your goodness and acceptance - thank you for that, too. Please help me get to that solid ground, that spacious freedom of confidence in you that results in open praises. And thank you for your smile and the moments we can laugh together.