I had an unexpected encounter with a wasp in my shower yesterday morning. The ugly rascal somehow made his way into my loofa, so when I went to use said loofa, I got a painful surprise. Right on my belly. I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced a wasp sting (it was my first), but to say it hurts would be like saying sitting on nails is uncomfortable. And my son, who had been innocently watching cartoons in my bedroom, got to witness my highly-dramatic response to it all. He watched my hysterical exit from the bathroom, blundered attempts to modify the pain with hydrogen peroxide and tobacco, and my phone call to my husband to bid him farewell. When the drama finally subsided, though, he looked at me and asked,“You okay, Mommy?”
“Yes. Just—a—wasp–sting. I’ll—be–okay,” I muttered, half believing.
My son studied the situation for a minute. “So, you’re okay?”
“Yes, I’m okay,” I said, finally in agreement.
“Then, it’s not as bad as drowning, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s not as bad as drowning.”
Thank goodness for children and the purity of perspective they offer, for “out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise” (Matthew 21:16). Of course, such a purity of perspective comes a little harder for the rest of us.
Perhaps one of the most overused phrases in society is “what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger,” but it is also one of the most often forgotten by adults. We live in a world where unexpected stings confront us from every direction. It can be a political set back, an unexpected illness in our family, or simply a flat tire. These stings can trigger emotions we didn’t even know we had. We can feel scorned, let down, betrayed, and forgotten. We can consequently let those emotions overshadow the promises we know we have in Christ and react in divisive ways.
That’s why it was encouraging to watch Trayvon Martin’s parents Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, as well as their attorney Benjamin Crump, last night on a CNN interview with Anderson Cooper. Whether you agree or don’t agree with the jury’s verdict that acquitted George Zimmerman on the charges of 2nd degree murder of Trayvon Martin, it is surely understandable that any perceived injustice in a court ruling over their son’s death could easily evoke the worst of reactions. By the time they gave this interview, however, that was not the case.
Although there are some points that could be disputed, they spoke convincingly and calmly about the disturbing dilemma black parents face in having to actually teach their children how to avoid suspicion, the problems with stand-your-ground laws that are inequitably applied to the races, the disconnect in understanding between the races, and their desire to answer God’s call to help offer solutions. And what they said, and the way they said it, resonated.
I’m attaching it here and hope that you will take the time to watch because, wherever you stand on the verdict, it shows parents who are facing what is surely the heaviest sting in their life with dignity and Christian strength. It is something we can all learn from.
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