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Have you ever done or said something so completely ridiculous that you thought you might simply die (or at least pass out) from embarrassment?
I have.
Have you ever noticed that those situations occur at precisely the wrong moment?
Me, too.
Let me tell you a little story about a first date…
There’s this girl. She’s in college, in the honors program. So, being smart and being right are very important to her. She has a reputation to maintain.
Then she meets this guy. He’s really handsome. He wants to ask her out, she can tell. But he doesn’t. So, she takes a deep breath and asks him. And he says yes.
Fast forward a couple of hours (she didn’t have time to waste!) and their first date is going great. She really likes him. He’s different and he’s gotten her attention.
After some frozen yogurt, he takes her to a building on campus to show her the architecture just because he thinks it’s interesting. As they stand there on the second floor admiring the modern lines of the structure, he comments on the beauty of the evening and the gorgeous blue moon {“…an extra full moon that occurred in a season; one season was normally three full moons. If a season had four full moons, then the third full moon was named a blue moon.” This only occurs once every two or three years, so it’s kinda special.}.
And then…she does it. Says maybe the most ridiculous thing she’s ever said in her entire life.
Just when things were going so well.
In this very romantic moment, while gazing at this spectacular full moon this girl says…
“That’s not the moon!”
Remember that she prides herself on being smart and being “right” the vast majority of the time.
Now, this guy, he’s no dummy. He knows it’s the moon and he says so. And, of course, he asks what she thinks it is.
So, confident that she’s right, she answers,
“It’s Venus!”
A conversation follows, the details of which are obscured by time, but the result of this little chat is that the girl realizes that she’s wrong. She has been led astray by her own pride and her inattention during astronomy lab, during which the instructor said that they wouldn’t be able to see the moon THROUGH THE TELESCOPE during the class, but they would be able to see Venus. Oops.
{Now let this be a lesson to you, class. It is very important to pay attention to everything your instructor says!}
Now, the rest of the details of this first date aren’t relevant at this time.
What is important for you to know (if you haven’t already guessed) is that I am that girl.
What you probably don’t know is that my handsome husband, Robert, is that guy.
I have to tell you that I thought I had completely blown it! I couldn’t see how I could recover from such an absolutely ridiculous statement.
But, somehow, I did. It’s a good thing Robert has a terrific sense of humor and, according to him, he could tell that statement was out of the ordinary and I was really much smarter than that!
Mostly, however, I believe it was because of God’s grace.
Phew! What a relief.
You see, Robert had decided that a wife would be the answer to the challenges he was facing at that time in his life and so he prayed in faith that God would give him a wife. (He told God he believed that it was a particular young woman and that he was going to pursue her and if she wasn’t the right one, would God please throw someone else in the way…I guess I got thrown!)
For the first five years we were married, I wouldn’t let Robert tell anyone that story. I was too humiliated. Then, God began to chip away at the stronghold of pride in my heart and the story was told from time to time, infrequently and hesitantly at first, then more easily and with enjoyment over the years.
Now, after 21 years of marriage (and over 23 years since that first date), I tell the story openly and with lots of laughter when it fits into the conversation. I don’t have anything to hide or anything to prove.
Now I can see the circumstances of that date for what they were. God was orchestrating things as only He can. He was arranging for us to meet, for me to see Robert’s sense of humor, for me to be the answer to Robert’s prayer (and for him to be the answer to mine).
I see our story illustrating Proverbs 16:9, which says,
In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
And I also see Proverbs 11:2, which says,
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
Because of my pride in that conversation, I was disgraced. But I was quick to receive correction and allow Robert to set me straight concerning the moon and Venus. (And I’ve never gotten it wrong again!)
The enemy, however, used that circumstance to bring condemnation to my heart repetitively over a number of years. He really got a lot of mileage out of that one!
Today, I see God’s goodness more clearly than ever before. I see Psalm 3:3 in my life:
But you are shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
For you, my dear sisters, remember that God is no respecter of persons. He has done these thing
s for me.
He wants to…
direct your steps,
give you humility and wisdom in place of pride and disgrace,
be your shield,
be your glory,
and lift your head.
All you need to do is surrender to Him and ask Him to do these things for you and in you. He’s just waiting for you to ask. He is the God of everything. And yet, He is intimately concerned about you.
Just give Him your ridiculous moments, your embarrassment, your pain. He can take it, redeem it, and make it something beautiful that brings Him glory and shows His great love.
With love,
Rebecca
P.S. I sure am glad His mercies are new every morning and not “once in a blue moon!”
