Lesson From My Weed Eater and Windows

 I have finished up my morning bowl of oatmeal with raisins and walnuts. The dirty bowl is sitting in the kitchen sink waiting to be washed.  I am enjoying my cup of coffee that is sitting on my coffee table while I type.  I am delighted with the sunshine and flowers that are brightening up my yard. But... But, in the corner of my entry way, standing where I can clearly see it, drawn up to its full three feet of height, is the weed eater.  It is fully charged and ready to go. I know it never demands more that twenty minutes of my time before its battery runs down, but I also know it wears me out, leaving my arms quivering like rubber bands.  I am trying vary hard not to make eye contact with it, so I look out the windows instead.  Mistake!

Don't ever make eye contact with a dirty window. Just thinking about washing a window makes my shoulders burn and wrists ache. But that window will now haunt me, consume me, and hunt me down until I either leave the room, pull the blinds, or get out the cleaning supplies that are under the sink.  No they aren't. Oh yes they are... no.

Now I have to avoid eye contact with both the weed eater and the dirty window.  I look away, in another direction, only to find another dirty window staring me in the face.  Panic starts to set in.  "Look beyond the window" I tell myself, so I do.  Oh no!! The grass under the apple tree is growing taller and taller.  It needs to be whacked down. No matter which way I look now, I am trapped.  HELP!

So here is my plan.  It is 10 AM.  I will finish my now cold coffee, wash up my oatmeal bowl, pan, spoon and coffee cup, put on my dirty outside-working clothes, take the weed eater out to the garage where I can't see it, take a walk down the road, and hope the sun goes behind the clouds so when I get home I can't see how dirty my windows are.

Just kidding.  I will wash up my dishes, put on my work clothes, and take the weed eater out with me to tackle the grass under the apple tree. I will then wash the windows, at least the ones I look through most often. I know my arms will end up like rubber bands, my shoulders and wrists will complain, and I'll go to bed exhausted, but tomorrow I won't have to avoid eye contact with either the weed eater or the windows.  I will enjoy their company.  That will last at least until I look through different dirt on different windows at different encroaching, out of control grass, on a different day.  And so life goes.


Now, take a quantum leap with me. Instead of talking about avoiding eye contact with a weed eating demon that wears you out, have you ever found yourself at the grocery store suddenly standing face-to-face with a person you haven't seen for awhile. This person is a talker who consumes your time even when you tell her you have to go. Just being in her presence wears you out. Suddenly you find yourself thinking, "I wish I hadn't come down this aisle. I should have stayed in Produce. I'm trapped.  HELP!"  You know what I mean.

I tend to also feel the same way when I end up in a small group discussion with a person who talks the entire time, even when they are reminded to "share the air" so others can talk. They are exhausting to be with, so you wish you had stayed home.

Then there are the times at church that you avoid eye contact with people you really like being around because you don't want to talk to anyone or are in a hurry. You look away or change the direction you're walking,  You know what I mean. At least I hope you know what I mean.

Its really not hurting anything to avoid eye contact with a weed eater or dirty window.  They don't care if we look at them or not. They don't feel rejected, ignored, or minimized if we walk passed them. People do care, though. Even as I write this, I am realizing I need to embrace the unavoidable, listen while I have the opportunity, smile whether or not I feel like it, make eye contact with God's children, and brighten up someone else's life.  It isn't all about me, if you know what I mean.