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Through A Woman's Eyes: Just Let It Go
Last week, I finally saw the movie Frozen. I was already familiar with most of the songs. All the little girls I’ve spent time with lately have been singing them. I enjoyed the movie, but not nearly as much as hearing those girls sing. I can’t think of a sweeter sound than their high pitched voices singing and giggling.
My favorite is when they sing Let It Go. Maybe because as they sing and giggle and spin around, which is pretty much all the time, that’s just what they’re doing- letting go.
I need to learn from them because sometimes I have a hard time letting go of things. Even silly things that I should be able to laugh about.
A perfect example happened last fall when my daughter, Ally, suggested the two of us make dinner for a family we know that was going through a very busy time. She’d already made plans to spend an evening in their home, helping out, and thought it would be nice to provide a meal. I do enjoy cooking. Over the years, however, I’ve realized that for me to plan, cook, and transport a meal to another family may fall short of being a blessing because something always seems to go wrong. So, sometime back, I started ordering lasagna and salad from a restaurant in town. They also throw in some bread and I make dessert and sweet tea. Early in my marriage, God looked at my so-so culinary ability and the fact that I live in the south and, in His mercy, gave me the spiritual gift of making really good sweet tea. The secret is in the pitcher you use, but that’s another story.
Anyway, with my track record, lots of red flags should have been waving in my face when I heard Ally’s suggestion.  I thought briefly of a ride I enjoyed at Six Flags when I was a kid that took you in a boat through a spook house. Along the way were characters saying ominously “turn back, turn back.” That is exactly what my good sense was screaming at me as Ally was saying how much fun it would be for us to cook together but, instead of heeding the warning, I heard myself suggesting some kid-friendly dishes we could prepare.
As our fun day of cooking approached, Ally learned of some conflicts in her schedule that would leave her with about an hour to devote to our endeavor. This would have been an excellent time to “turn back, turn back” but I had a plan in place and did not want to admit defeat, so I “pressed on, pressed on” instead.
On the afternoon of the appointed day, Ally got sick. I adjusted my cooking schedule and took her to the doctor. At this point, most sane people would have turned back and ordered take-out, but not me. After all, I had the meal halfway done.
On the way home from the doctor, I rehearsed over and over in my mind my schedule for finishing the menu. I had it planned down to the minute. But our family had recently gotten Emma, an English Mastiff puppy. I’ve pretty much decided to blame everything that goes wrong in my life on Emma. She always seems to be involved somehow.
Sure enough, when we got home, I found she had a big mess for me to clean up in her crate. Things went downhill from there, but I never turned back. I stuck with my plan ‘til the bitter end and, believe me, it was bitter. Fortunately, the family I was “helping” was precious and handled the evening very graciously even though the chicken wouldn’t brown (I later discovered the butter I should have dipped it in still in the microwave), dinner was not ready until after the kids’ bedtime, and while washing dishes, I thought I broke their sink (well, they actually never knew about that.)
Now I need to let it go. If I could just get past my hurt pride, it’s all pretty funny. I want to be like a princess I met last weekend at a birthday tea. Amid the singing, dancing, and giggling, this sweet five-year-old suddenly announced, “I laugh ‘til my eyes drip!” Oh, yes. That’s what I need to do every day. So, the next time Ally and I take a meal to someone, we’re going to sing and dance around the kitchen, laughing ‘til our eyes drip, as we make dessert and tea. Then, we’ll order take-out lasagna and spend the time we save getting our nails done. It will be a blessing to everyone.

mhynson1@gmail.com  •  www.welcomelord.com

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