She needed her toenails trimmed in a major way. But, bless her heart, she's the kind of girl that would have been just fine with a trim and then a jaunt in the park. Not me.
She patiently waited as I trimmed a little and then a little more -- I'm always afraid I'll make them bleed.
Then she endured my filing them with an emory board. You can't have sharp edges on your nails!
Then, the insult of all insults -- I painted them
PINK!
When we were all finished, she exitedly went running around outside, glad to be free from the torture.
But when she came back in, she curled up on my bed in a little ball -- feet all tucked under -- as if to say, "Don't you dare do anything else to my toes! You've embarrassed me enough for one night!"
How many times do we do things like this to our friends and family -- impose what we think is appealing onto them?
I don't know, maybe you aren't guilty of such a thing. I know there are times when I think something should go a certain way or be done with a certain touch and I just assume everybody else feels the same way. Many times it isn't really a big deal -- everybody just goes along and it turns out fine. But sometimes, feelings get hurt -- people feel like you're about the bossiest human they know -- people wonder who put YOU in control, etc.
As Thanksgiving approaches, I'm reminded of the first European settlers and the native Americans who helped them survive. It was imperative to show each other respect and to learn to share the land.
I don't think it's any different today. We mustn't expect pink nail polish where plain ol' ordinary ones will do nicely. We must respect each other and learn from one another. And...
Be thankful for God's provision.
No comments:
Post a Comment