Blessings Along the Way
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us." Hebrews 12:1
The Broken Mug
By Rhonda Mayfield
This March we were so excited to host my husband's cousin, his wife and their four beautiful daughters in our home for a few days. They were on a college tour for their two oldest and while it seems that my hopes of having cousins live with us while attending Maryville College (my alma mater) seem to be dashed, I was still excited to have a few days to see them. My own sweet daughter LOVES her cousins. They are such precious girls whose godly parents are our role models. We planned for nothing but fun! Friday morning we woke to gorgeous weather. My husband had to work for a few hours, but was going to meet us at Lakeside Tavern for lunch and then a day of adventure. Cousin Jane was getting ready, and cousin Brad was sneaking in a bit of computer time for work and I confess that I was taking advantage of the girls playing together in the basement to work on "Overflow" for just a few minutes. They play together so well… loudly, but peacefully. Then I heard the sound of glass shattering followed by silence. Seems that the loud playing was covering the sound of cousin Leigha playing ball in the house.
It's amazing the skills a mom acquires. I ran a quick mental inventory of all the breakable objects in the basement and weighed their size and shape against the sound I had heard. This one was too big, that one seemed too heavy, I couldn't figure what broke. I could tell that my daughter was not the guilty party, and since Brad was downstairs I waited for him to make the first pass before I ventured down to investigate. Decades ago as a poor starving college student my husband bought a set of stoneware coffee mugs for his late grandmother. After her passing his mom thought he would like them back. For years I had them in storage in the master bedroom closet. Since finishing the basement two years ago, I put them in the kitchen area (on the new granite countertops) since the colors matched. ;-) Well… I gotta tell ya, they ain't kiddin' about granite countertops. If you drop something, it will not break… it will shatter!
So… there was a sheepish Leigha, a shattered mug and a father saying "you'll have to apologize to cousin Tony when you see him…”
It was several hours later when we were seated on the patio at Lakeside Tavern with beautiful views on a perfect day. I had completely forgotten about the mug. My husband called to say he was on his way. Leigha asked to be excused to go to the restroom. Again, I was distracted and had forgotten all about the mug. After about 10 minutes, Brad asked Jane if maybe she needed to check on Leigha, maybe she was ill. Jane said, "I know exactly what's wrong with her, she's hiding. She doesn't want to face cousin Tony and tell him she was playing ball in the house and broke his mug." My heart just sank. Of course that's what she was doing. Poor thing, I told her it was no big deal, but as her father pointed out (rightly so) she disobeyed the house rule of ball playing outdoors only, and as a result broke something that really cannot be replaced.
My husband arrived knowing none of this. Leigha was still in the bathroom. Tony was briefed. I knew him well enough, I knew what he would say. "It's just a thing," he said, making me proud of him. But as a father himself he knew that Leigha would have to tell him all about it and apologize and he would have to act as if he didn't know the whole story already. FINALLY, Leigha comes back to the table. She sits in her chair and pushes the food on her plate around, eating nothing. Her mother gave her "the look" more than once. Every time it was ignored. I could feel her agony. Finally (being the great mom that she is) Jane got up, went to Leigha and took her by the hand. She escorted her daughter to the seat beside cousin Tony, sat down and pulled her 12 year old onto her lap. "Cousin Tony, Leigha has something to tell you."
Long pause.
In that silence that seemed to last 15 minutes, I could feel EVERYONE at that table cheering for Leigha. Her parents, her sisters and her cousins all leaning in thinking "just do it, just say it and get it over with, it's no big deal, you're already forgiven, just say it!!"
Finally, an admission of guilt, an apology and then she waited - - what would he say??? What would he do?? She seemed more nervous than ever waiting, and it was only a second, but I'm sure she thought it was a year!
I was so proud of my husband. He took off his sunglasses, looked into her teary eyes and said, "It's just a thing. It means nothing to me. YOU are what is important. Thank you for telling me about it, but I'm just happy to have you as a guest in my home. That's what's important, you. What matters is the relationship we have, not some coffee mug."
He may have said more, but I was suddenly not aware of it. It was as if God tapped me on the shoulder, cleared His throat and said "all of us up here do that for you too." My mind was flooded with memories of all the times that I have spent hiding in the bathroom afraid to step out and do what seemed impossible. To be obedient rather than rational. Suddenly I got the image of a heavenly host leaning forward round their table saying "just do it, just say it and move on, you're already forgiven." How many times have I sat at a table pushing the food around on the plate when I could have been feasting? How many times have I needed a spiritual antacid when I could have been enjoying the fellowship, the beautiful weather and the view?
I keep that broken mug as a reminder and a challenge. Now I'm passing that challenge on to you. What is it that has you hiding in the bathroom? What are you being asked to do that you are avoiding? Step out, apologize, obey and join me at the table. You don't step out alone; a great cloud of witnesses surrounds you. Throw off the weights, stop crawling and run with endurance.
Rhonda has been married to Tony for 20 years and they have one (perfect) daughter, Kaylyn. A classically trained pianist, Rhonda has been the Women's Ministry Ensemble Director for the past year. In addition to annoying her friends with random movie quotes, she loves to travel, eat, cook and decorate. Rhonda enjoys entertaining and doesn't sweat the occasional broken dish as all things work together for good (and often a funny story). When she isn't shopping online you can find her on Facebook posting her thoughts on everything from motherhood to the endless uses for Nutella.
WANT TO GET INVOLVED? We have many exciting things in store for 2010 and we need you! If you enjoy decorating, greeting, hosting, serving food, leading small groups or simply offering helping hands, please stop by the Women's Ministry table in the Gathering Space on the KP Campus, the Welcome Center on the WestLake Campus, email us, or call 966.9791.
