Problems and frustrations are universal; we all have them. We are all crayons trying to live in the same box even though some of us are different colors. But here is a similarity we have. We all have days when our crayons are just “gray”, and these are the days when we need a little encouragement and inspiration.
Even though our difficulties on those gray days may be entirely different, they nonetheless leave us feeling “blah”. Have you ever had days like that?
Here’s an example: Perhaps no matter how hard you try, you still haven’t done things to the satisfaction of others. Or maybe you said something unintentionally that a friend took the wrong way and was insulted. Maybe you have a little one who is temperamental and no matter what you try to do to appease him or her, you fail. Or, let’s say you are trying your best to raise a teenager the right way but suddenly you wonder if it would not be easier to nail Jello to a tree! Or, how about this one – No matter how diligently you work, your efforts seem to go unnoticed. For whatever reason, things just don’t turn out right.
Here is a cute little story that gets to the point! A six-year old named Benny decided one Saturday morning to fix his parents some pancakes. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it all over the floor. He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most of a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the floor which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten.
Benny was covered with flour and getting frustrated! He just wanted this to be a nice surprise for his Mom and Dad, but it was not working out as he’d planned. He didn’t know what to do next – whether to put it all in the oven or cook them on the stove – neither of which he really knew how to operate. Suddenly he saw his kitten kicking from the bowl of mix and reached to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor. Frantically, he tried to clean up this monumental mess but slipped on the eggs, getting his pajamas white and sticky.
As you can imagine, it was about this time when he looked up and saw his Dad standing at the door! The boy was more than a little scared of what his Dad’s reaction might be, and his eyes welled up with crocodile tears. He began explaining that all he wanted to do was make breakfast for his parents! Yet he fully expected to be harshly reprimanded for the mess he had created.
To his great surprise (and relief!), his father picked up his crying boy, hugged him and managed to get his own pajamas sticky in the process. He father understood that the mess had not been intentional. His son had wanted to do something nice, but things had gone “gray”.
Let’s think about it, this is how God deals with us. We try to do something good in life, but it turns out messy sometimes. Our failure may bring us to tears as well because we don’t know how to fix things. But that’s when God picks us up and forgives us and loves us anyway. So don’t stop making pancakes; keep trying; and sooner or later you’ll get it right.
Quote of the Week: “Good intentions sometimes backfire, but it doesn’t mean we should stop trying!” ~ Author Unknown
