Monday, July 12, 2010

The Masked Man

Some years ago, I had a frightening encounter with a masked man wielding a very sharp knife. I can say now that I am grateful for this encounter but at the time it did not seem good.

The guy with the mask was actually a friend of mine who was a surgeon and after he completed his work on me the only thing that caused me much pain was his bill.

What I recall about my recovery time from this surgery was the stern instructions for me to take it easy for a while. I was not to lift anything heavier than a biscuit. This was a terrible embarrassment to me when we went on vacation soon after the surgery and I could not even carry my chair down to the beach and my wife and daughter did all the heavy lifting. I was forced to stroll down to the beach carrying my towel and book. I could just imagine all the people in the Beach Houses that lined the ocean front seeing my behavior and speaking with great disdain about me: "Look at that jerk making his wife and daughter do all the work while he sits in his beach chair! I hope he gets stung by a jellyfish!"

I have trouble sometimes being willing to let anyone serve me. I want to pull my on weight - do it myself - I have just enough insecurity that it makes me uncomfortable allowing someone else to do something for me. What I forget is how good it feels to serve others - I know that feeling and yet I seem resistant to allowing others to experience that same joy.

I am learning to appreciate the value of graciously allowing others to serve me. Sometimes we learn valuable lessons by being still and just saying "Thanks!"

I hope you will not have to face an encounter with a masked man to learn this lesson.

Just thinking, Steve

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