Living Story Grace

Early on a humid Saturday morning, I was enjoying a vigorous workout walk on the beach with two faraway friends who had joined me for a Moms Group reunion on Perdido Key.

Conversation meandered from the mundane, “I wonder if it will rain later,” to the musing, “How did we go from discussing diapers to dating without any signs of personal aging:)…?”

My friend Hope spotted a flock of birds in formation and practically clapped her hands in delight at God’s creation, “Look how pretty the birds are!”

And I said…

I said…

Yes, well, I mumbled, “Until they poop on you.”

Yes, I did.  I don’t know what came over me.  Well, I sort of do.

My friend Cheryl burst into laughter and remonstrated gently, “ELIZABETH!!”  (As in, I’m surprised at you!)

With her response, I too wondered at myself.  Why would I rain so liberally on Hope’s delight?  What was with me?

Though it was sort of a silly moment, I could not shake it from my mind.  God has been tugging at me lots lately about my cynicism and negativity.  I felt alternately sad and stunned at my remark.  The memory of the moment followed me for the rest of the day.

Later that night, I was talking with Cheryl, the stalwart friend who had the kindness to be shocked at my cynicism. We were discussing our fierce desire to put tongue-tearing behind us.  I told her, “It’s like the comment I made this morning.  It seems like God is frequently revealing this tendency toward negativity.”

She told me, “What struck me about it is that you are NOT a negative person.  I don’t think of you as cynical.  It just seemed so out of character.”

And together we wondered about it.  She’s right.  My nature is to be an encourager.  But I do have a long streak of cynicism and a sin-natural bent toward criticism in me.  God is knocking on my door, saying, “Enough.”  With frequency, the Holy Spirit sneaks up on me and shines the light on my sin and shouts, “That’s not who you really are!” With Spirit-prodding words, the Father urges me, “Live in and out of your redemption, my dear daughter.”

I am grateful.  Grateful for a God who will not leave me alone with an imagination that envisions bird poop dropping on my happy day, grateful for friends who say, “But that’s not who you are…”

And grateful for an odd God who sometimes in fact does allow bird-poop to drop on a sweet girl enjoying a sunny day in the park.  For indeed, that, in some fairness to myself, is what I was thinking of when I made that remark.  Behold a picture of my lovely daughter, who is interning in London, on the day she was sadly surprised when a bird rained on her parade, but somehow seemed to find a way to laugh at the insanity of it all!  But that’s another story!