A Black Eye From What?

I was hustling around the kitchen one night and not really listening to the steady stream of words my son was hurling my way. It’s not that I was trying to ignore him. Actually, it was quite the opposite. As a finalist for Mother of the Year, I do try to actively participate in these types of conversations. Yet there are times when the kids’ stories get so long that you tend to tune out as you’re preparing dinner or cleaning the disgusting hamster cage. (That’s another story.)

I noticed about an hour later that my son’s left eye had a curious black ring around the bottom half. And I couldn’t help but ask. That’s not always the best choice but I usually do it anyway.

“Mom, I just told you what happened,” he said, not hiding his disgust.

After I apologized for my short comings and failure to multi task effectively, he explained again.

“When I was cleaning up my snack I wanted to see if I could balance the box of crackers on one hand while I tossed the container of grandma cheese (aka a common spreadable cheese we renamed in our home) in the air. I was supposed to catch it but when it fell it landed on my eye ball cause I didn’t see it cause I was trying not to spill the crackers cause I knew you would get upset and then the dog would eat them off the floor and then she’d get sick and I didn’t want to clean it up and…”

“Ok. Timeout. Take a breath. You got a black eye from a container of cheese? Son, we have to come up with a better story than that. Let’s say an alligator broke in the house and….”

Well, we’re still working on the rest.

Sometimes it’s the things we least expect that can cause us harm. Many times we deal with something that causes a problem for us but not for someone else. Everyone struggles with one thing or another and we have to be sensitive to others and their trials. We also have to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit as He shows us areas of concern we might not recognize. We shouldn’t be looking for devils under every bush but we should ask Father God to show us areas where we need to adjust and prevent something from causing us to stumble. Ask God to show you areas or things in your life where you may need to make that adjustment to have a closer walk with Him.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.     Psalm 139: 23-24 (NLT)