When I was a boy my parents bought a new couch. It was a big deal. It looked very nice in our living room. That was part of the problem. It looked so nice my mother was determined to keep it that way. To do so she put clear plastic covers over it. They were cold and crinkly when you sat on them and after sitting for a while they became hot and sticky. To top it off they were reflective and really uglified the couch. She always said she was saving the couch for special occasions and should one arrive she would remove the plastic covers. To my memory we never had a special occasion. I remembered this when a few days ago I got into a friend’s car and noticed they had floor mats on the floor mats. I figured they were saving the original floor mats which were saving the car’s carpet for an occasion when someone special would ride in their car. Obviously I wasn’t that someone special.
I would like to make a case that the most special people in our lives are the people we see everyday. They are our children, our spouse and other members of the family. The special people in our lives are the ones who love us enough to put up with our idiosyncrasies on a daily basis. They are the ones who bear with us when we become intolerable and they are the ones who can laugh not only with us but better yet at us. If you are saving something special for some stranger to visit you, please stop it. Get out those special dishes and take the floor mats off the floor mats.
See Romans 12:10-13
Written by Roger Bothwell on May 13, 2010
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org