Church was good today. The pastor said something about pickles, “when you’re in a pickle… remember you don’t have to eat the pickles.” Very cute, I hadn’t heard that one before. I do remember having had the pickiest kids and how we would often have to order them a burger, “plain and dry.” Please, please, whatever you do, don’t let a pickle near that kid’s plate. Just a tiny pickle on a piece of lettuce and the whole plate is going to be contaminated with pickle vibes, amid shrieks of, “is…that….a… pickle?”
Dad was far more gracious than I was about such things, but I think his tolerance and desire to “just let the kids be kids” fueled some unnecessary finicky-ness. We used to argue about it, and I did manage to draw the line once about a princess spoon. Dad is a cut- the-crusts-off, peel-the-kid’s-grape for them, kind of dad. His mom owned a restaurant and cooked all her life. I grew up dumpster diving poor and there was never enough to eat. I was the oldest kid, he was one of the youngest. He had half a dozen people willing to peel the skin off his grapes for him. Hubby and I are one extreme contradiction after another, completely incompatible in culture, upbringing, style. Opposites do attract sometimes.
Pastor didn’t just speak of pickles however, he spoke of extending grace to others, of allowing each person to be one of God’s children. We’re all on our own journey, we all have our own quirks. I struggle with this a lot, with being patient and accommodating towards others, but not in the ordinary sense. I enjoy most people, I enjoy the diversity, I love to hear about where people are at in their journey. I do have to remember to be forgiving to extend grace, to not judge and measure people by my own standard, but for the most part it comes naturally, it is second nature to me.
I love that term, “second nature.” I have a second nature, one born of grace and not of this world.
I don’t struggle with letting God’s children be His children, quirks and all, in the ordinary sense, I struggle with the appalling, unjust, unfair ones, the rottenness to my darn bones people. I don’t trust in justice, I have that wounding that comes from knowing perfectly well you can’t fight city hall, that the deck is stacked against you, that might makes right and that the powerful always win. It’s the wrong mindset to have, but it’s one born of experience. Takes a huge leap of faith to trust in the Lord and not my own understanding.
Matthew 5:46-47 comes to mind, “For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?”
Dan Ledwith said:
Hmm…I was preaching on grace today too. Go figure. My girls love pickles. Can’t get enough of them… come to think of it, that seems true metaphorically speaking too….
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insanitybytes22 said:
Lol! Yes, some of us are fond of being in a pickle. I suppose there may even be some pickles worth tangling with. We could even say life is all about learning how to pick your pickles.:-)
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Dan Ledwith said:
Haha! Yes. And learning to let that pickle go. =P
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DeniseBalog said:
Putting the pickle on the side, your post is excellent. Struggling with the injustice and people who are down right nasty tasting to our sense of wrong and right. I think we all have those days when we grow tired of waiting for justice. You explained it perfectly! Hard to type this thought with “pickles” on my mind!! I guess one could say, I’m in a pickle!! Good post:)
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Wally Fry said:
Ha I have used the phrase about being in a pickle often, but never the whole thing.
Glad church was good. I actually got to make it to the evening service. Got to teach my evening Sunday School class. We rotate and it was my turn. So, the evening was good. Aiming to make it all day next week.
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MJThompson said:
That term, “second nature.” I once stumbled into a ‘deep meditation’ about that. Are we physical beings that have momentary spiritual experiences, or are we spiritual beings temporarily imprisoned in this physical realm? In other words – what is REALLY our ‘second-nature’? As was rightly stated, “We’re all on our own journey, we all have our own quirks.” That opposites do attract is undeniable (‘common sense’?) and quite compatible with God’s design for marriage – where the two become one – perfect ‘help-meats’ because what one lacks, the other provides. But where self-awareness too often results in either poor self-esteem or arrogance, righteous comprehension of who we are in Christ should provide a new appreciation for what ‘second-nature’ is meant to be.
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Pastor Randy said:
The line that spoke to me: “We’re all on our own journey, we all have our own quirks.” Thanks!
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