A Lack of Gray

"But Mom," Vince wailed.  "I can't use it now."

"There are other colored pencils you can use,"  Elaine told him.  "Why don't you color a picture that doesn't use gray?  We will sharpen it when we get back home."

"But I need to color this picture," he said.  "It is a picture of a Slate Gray Junco and it is very beautiful, but you cannot color it without a gray colored pencil!" 

Clearly this piece of advice had done little to assuage Vince's upset feelings.  The absence of a gray colored pencil was the most important thing to him on our next to last day of vacation.

I had to think about how many times the little things in life upset me.  It's not colored pencils (I haven't gotten on board with the whole adult coloring book craze), but there are plenty of other little speed bumps that can make the difference between my day being smooth or hard.

I suppose the problems really have more to do with me and my selfishness.  When I am too focused on myself and my perceived needs (that is to say my wants), then anything that disturbs those things is bound to upset me.

At the same time, when my focus is on Jesus and others, it is far easier to take things in stride.  At the end of the day, I will be more satisfied when my focus was on serving others than on having everyone in my path cater to my wants.

I often wonder about how Jesus dealt with crowds and multitudes constantly following Him and pressing into His personal time and space.  It had to be pretty hard at times and I am sure He was physically exhausted, but He also loved everyone of the people following Him and that made all the difference.

Love really does make the difference, even enough (maybe) to let you weather the storm of a broken, gray-colored pencil.