I was so embarrassed!

The day was warm and we were in the peak of a Midwest summer. My ex-husband and I had been out running a few errands in town and decided to stop and get some lunch, here where we had more options before driving back to our small bedroom community. We were both dressed in lightweight clothing, shorts and tees. It is important to note at this point, that this particular pair of shorts that I was wearing was made up of a gauzy thin fabric, they zipped and buttoned at the waist and had the hidden pockets in the side seams. They were wonderful to wear in the extreme heat that we had in Southwest Missouri.

We decided to stop at one our favorite Chinese food restaurants and take the time to go in and have a sit down lunch. This restaurant was small and had limited seating. It had once been a Baskin Robbins and had about 8 fast food type booths and 2 large aquariums. Ordering was done at the counter and then brought out to you on a cafeteria tray, nothing fancy, but always good food. Even though the place was always busy, I don’t remember ever going in when all the booths were full as they were this time. We walked in and stood behind 4 people already in line and waited to order.

As we stood in line we discussed the odd feeling that we had both experienced coming in the door. It was honestly like every person in the place turned and stared at us as we walked in the door. Had we walked in on a private party? We felt awkward and irritated as the stares seemed to continue. My ex asked where we were going to sit when we did eventually get to order and I looked around surveying the meals in progress at the tables, it seemed that no one was close to leaving anytime soon. I was irritated and aggravated at this point. It had taken us awhile to decide where to eat and then when we chose there was nowhere to sit.

“Do you want to go somewhere else,” he asked.

You know how you can sometimes get the bold, snarky attitude when you know that you will never see these people again and you just want to mouth off? Well that terrible idea popped into my mind like an insta -flash on an old polaroid and at the moment, seemed not only warranted, but brilliant!

He started walking to the door, 4 or 5 steps away when I responded to his invitation in a rather loud voice, “Maybe we can go somewhere, where everyone doesn’t turn around and stare at you when you walk through the door!” I emphasized certain words to make my point and felt like I had delivered a stellar performance, holding my head high, for an instant and then… it happened.

As I stepped up higher than my normal bounce, which I can only imagine involved climbing up on my high horse, my shorts caught on the rectangular metal handle on the commercial type glass door we were walking through. At this point, I stopped abruptly. My dismount or exit stage right move was ruined and I was quite literally stuck in the moment that I desperately wanted to leave.

But then it got worse. I called to Russell and he was already at the car, when I lurched slightly to yell and discreetly get his attention, I heard a rip. Then I moved again trying to jerk my shorts free, but it was no use, somehow they were being held higher than I could get my waist even when I was on my tip toes. He was standing at the car looking at me with a confused look and I was getting impatient. I tried to get him to come back to me without saying the words, but it wasn’t working. “My shorts are stuck on the door, I need your help!”

I’m sure if you are really thinking this through, you would have put this together already, but if you haven’t, I am stuck on the handle that is on the inside of the door. I am standing in the walking space with the door open 90° with the captive audience. I might as well as have clinked silverware on a Champaign glass and demanded their attention. It is not often that low budget Chinese food comes with a dinner show, but boy were they getting one now.

I had to stay on my tip toes as I waited 57 years for Russell to put it together and come to my assistance. When he got to me he asked what the problem was and then he saw my problem which resulted in him loosing himself in laughter. Every time that he reached to try and release the fabric that had earlier been the left side of my shorts, he lost control and doubled over again. I was so embarrassed and wanted to belt him one so he would quit laughing and figure out a solution. Every time that I started to relax my tippy toe stance, I heard another rip, at which point I would command my tired calves to return to the position.

It seemed like forever that we were there, me trying to hold the remainder of my shorts, on my tip toes, while Russell cackled intermittently and tried to see through his laugh squinted eyes to free my shorts. Finally, one last rip and I was released. My shorts had ripped completely from the waist all the way to the hem.

I gathered the ‘used to be’ seam, in my hand and walked to the car while keeping the left side of my body away from the audience.

When I sat in the car and finally breathed a sigh of relief, Russell kept trying to say something but he was laughing so hard that I couldn’t understand him, finally on the 3rd or 4th try, he got it out… “Drive thru, then?”

Have you ever let your mouth or actions get you into a spot? Maybe you’ve assumed something and reacted before you knew what actually happened? Or maybe you took something in a hurtful way (text messages with no indication of intent without hearing their tone) and were in a full blown stooper of anger, rejection, or spite when wording was just in such a way and you interpreted and reacted to it before asking or waiting to make sure that you understood it correctly? Maybe you have said words that you desperately wish that you could take back? I know that I have.

Have you listened to yourself? Your tongue is like a sharp razor, full of lies that slash and tear right to the soul. Psalm 52:2 (VOICE)

We are in the season of get-togethers, parties, celebrations, programs, gift exchanges, traveling, being with those who know us best (for better or worse), and putting it all together. We get caught up in doing it all; giving the best- party, program, gift, and looking great while we do it.

But do we take the time to be kind and be aware of the words that are waiting to pounce when that certain individual crosses us, deters our plan, or one ups everything that we say? I would like to encourage you (and myself), not to spout off with unkind or snarky words, as you can see if the previous story, the victory, if you feel it at all, is short lived and you may just end up showing your behind! (maybe quite literally, like I did!)

I would like to encourage us all to take some time to think about the people or situations that stress us most and pray specifically for each one independently. Sometimes there are underlying situations that we know nothing about that may be adding to behavior or shaping a general situation into less than the ideal.

When we are tempted to speak, may we pray for awareness, and just take a moment and watch without interjecting. Sometimes God will show you something that you missed, or He may put someone else there to step in and lead the situation on another path completely. You may find a gift that you never saw coming.

She opens her mouth with wisdom,

And on her tongue is the law of kindness. Proverbs 31:26 (NKJV)

As a girl who has always lived in a home that valued and celebrated the true meaning of Christmas, for which I am eternally grateful, it is still so hard not to get caught up in the commercialism and materialism of the holiday season.

Usually when it is a loved one’s birthday, we spend more time with them, we think about their interest and look for ways to enjoy them with the birthday person, we sometimes sacrifice our own plans or desires to accommodate them so they know just how much they mean to us.

Let’s think about Jesus. He came to save the world. Think about that. He was sacrificed willingly for each of us. He died for you and for me and for that annoying person who we want to be snarky with, equally.

Is it too much to take some time and spend with Him? Too much to spend time in His word? Too much to take the time to journal about how much we appreciate His sacrifice and His love? Too much to meet Him on our knees in the intimacy of a quiet morning? Too much to live a life that directs others to Him? I can think of nothing that He would like more.

Don’t forget to put His name at the top of your list.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11 (KJV)

For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV)