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Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Meditating on the M&M’s


I never met an M&M I didn’t like. Well, except for the other day…

My minivan was parched for clean oil and the indicator light glared at me condescendingly. So there I sat, waiting in the lube joint while my vehicle enjoyed a spa day. The shiny little vending machines caught my eye, calling out to me with their various vibrant primary colors. Peanut M&Ms. Yes! Only twenty-five cents invested, and my fist was bulging with peanutty chocolatey goodness!

I slowly chomped each morsel, sometimes sucking on them until the candy coating melted. Other times, I chomped right down into the layers at once. Sadness ensued as I look down to discover only crumbs of bright-colored candy coating left in my palm. Sadness quickly morphed into horror as I noticed a creepy, crawly MEALWORM among the leftovers. Eeeeeeek! I quickly fought off the urge to re-visit my formerly consumed candy, then tried to still the scrambling thoughts inside my head. Was there more than one worm? Did I eat any worms? Will I die? I thought these things tasted stale! Should I tell the lady at the desk? This is going on my facebook status! Once I regained feeling in my legs, I sheepishly told the receptionist and she promptly placed an “out of order” sign on the machine.

This kind of thing happens to me frequently. No joke. My kids even know it! As I was feverishly recounting this tale to my husband, I wondered aloud, “Who does this happen to? Really, WHO DOES THIS?” Without even looking up from the book she was reading, my nine 9-year-old quipped, “Apparently, you, Mom. Apparently you.”

She’s right. Crazy, awful stuff seems to happen to me! Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I’m gonna eat some worms. But I have found that there is an upside to almost everything. Well, what in the world could be good about starting my day eating worms? Here were some of my thoughts:

The day can only get better from here.

• Woo hoo! Extra protein!

• Maybe this will deter my chocolate habit . . . okay, for one day, anyway. Okay, for 10 minutes.

• I can’t wait to tell my SHE! friends about this.

• People all over the world eat worms. Some don’t have a choice. So glad that I do.

Do you ever feel like you started your day out with mealworms hidden among your candy? Boy, don’t I know it! It doesn’t take much to ruin a perfectly good day. A flat tire, a nasty e mail, a late notice on your power bill, a call from your child’s school teacher, a glare from across the cubicle at work. Mealworms.

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:8 puts it into perspective. Meditate on the M&M’s, not the mealworms! Don’t get so hung up on the mealworm that you miss the chocolatey goodness of the candy. You know, the candy! The giggling of your children in the next room, the blessing of a car that gets you to and from in one piece, a job that pays the bills, your health, the change of seasons, life lived in a free country, a dog or cat that loves you even when you’re a jerk. These are the candy in the palm of life, and while you will certainly encounter a mealworm here and there, you can choose to focus on the good stuff - the candy. Throw those mealworms to the ground, stomp them hard, then move on. Life is too sweet to let a tiny little worm ruin my love for the good stuff!

(as published in SHE! November 2010)

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