My children are not real tuned into the weather changes and thus have been experiencing some "costume malfunctions". Due to continuing to go barefoot outdoors in the chilly weather, and possibly due to having a water fight in this chilliness, I have needed to place the tissue boxes at their winter posts rather than just stick with the single "summer" box of Kleenex.
Having some drainage issues of my own caused me to seek out a new winter favorite of mine: Vick's Kleenex. I LOVE these things! All the perks of a Halls menthol cough drop PLUS a thick layer of Vicks under your nose, but none of the mess! I just send the kids to bed with one and tell them to lay in on their pillow. (away from their eyes!) Personally I have not found a better way to clear out the morning mucus than smothering your self with all those fumes!
And herein lies the controversy. Not every one likes these "Spicy Kleenex". (my kids named them that)
Can you believe it? There are those who would rather not have a burning sensation run thru every orifice in their head when they wipe away a stray drip. Funny how that works!! Granted, these are not the tissues I use to wipe my eyes, but even as I sit here I am enjoying the proximity of these and the head clearing affects they have.(Warning: this originally random post has just brought
to light a much deeper principle I'd like to delve into)
Someone very near and dear to me does not like these tissues. Better said, I think she may even hate them. They offer no comfort to her, and even a box of plain tissues set next to these takes on too many fumes for her to handle.
What do I do? Do I sacrifice the person for the preference??
Duh!!! No!!!! We just have two kinds of tissues in this house.( plain, spicy and extra crispy (Just Kidding! Please smile that was funny!))
This whole preference on tissues issue has really gotten me thinking about other preferences we all have and how they drive us and effect those around us. For example: music, hair, clothes, movies, books, food, family size, vehicles, bed time, parenting, teaching.... the list could go on forever!
More often than not, two people do not match up PERFECTLY when it comes to preferences. Even more uncommon is to find a group of people living lives with perfectly matched preferences. So how do we handle these oddities...in others?
One group of people we interact with often is our church family. Don't you think we should all agree on everything?!! Isn't that what unity is about?
I am convinced, "Not so much." Beauty lies in variation. Contrast brings depth, and nuance.
Which brings me to what I have been learning. I am responsible before God for my response to the preferences of others. I don' have to join them, but I neither do I have to "beat" them.
Who knows, He's may even want me to facilitate THEIR preferences and die to my self!
(P.S. please do not confuse conviction and preference as you read this)
4 comments:
I am so gonna try those Kleenex!
AND, "Beauty lies in variation. Contrast brings depth, and nuance." LOVE that, it's so true.
How boring would life and church be if we were all the same?!?
Had so much fun visiting with you today :)
I "love" the vicks kleenex. The best invention yet!
You gave me much to chew on today. I love the object lesson too. Great way to make analogies, at least for me, keeps my attention.
I didn't even know such a thing as spicy Kleenex existed. How sheltered am I? :) I love all things spicy - so must try them. :) Your hephews use the term spicy quite frequently too. Pop is the newsest thing in our fridge to be called spicy. :)
You have changed alot on your views of things in the past dozen or so years. :) haven't we all...
um yeah, should have been nephews. :)
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