Have you ever noticed that sometimes your fondest memories are of moments that didn’t go just right?
When our kids were little, we looked for ways to make Valentine’s Day special on a limited budget. So we decorated the kitchen with homemade hearts, took out the good porcelain dishes and served pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream for supper. Our kids loved it! This soon became our Valentine’s Day tradition! Not only did we all enjoy the food, but it felt festive, and the kids felt special.
We carried on this tradition for many years, and even now our kids serve a similar supper on Valentine’s Day with their families. However, one particular supper stands out above the rest.
I had stopped by the local grocery store on my way home to get some heart-shaped smarties and a can of whipped cream. Usually one is asked to shake those cans vigorously before spraying the whipped cream out of the can. Naturally, Lisa (who was about 10 at the time) took the can and shook it for all she was worth. With great joy she dispensed whipping cream over her pancake and then placed the can in the centre of the table. To her surprise the whip cream kept coming out from the opening on the top - it wouldn’t stop.
The kids squealed in laughter as we all did our best to salvage as much whipped cream as we could before it ran out. Eventually we found a bowl and watched with amazement as our little geyser spewed out its remaining contents in a matter of seconds. I laugh whenever I think about it, and it has become one of my favourite Valentine’s Day memories.
I wonder if this would still be a fond memory if we would have become angry that day, scolding Lisa for wasting all that whipped cream and demanding that she clean up the mess before she left the table. This situation had the potential to end badly, but thankfully we found joy in it instead. We later found out that this particular brand of whipped cream gave the instruction not to shake.
When Barb and I were first married, Barb had grabbed a jar of mustard from the fridge. She had just washed some lettuce, her hands were wet and the jar fell and shattered on the floor. There was mustard and glass everywhere. I remember feeling annoyed - it was a brand new jar and I was not looking froward to wiping up mustard from every nook and cranny for the next hour.
But before I could say anything, Barb started to laugh with that contagious joy of hers. She had found this explosion of mustard humorous and before I knew it, I was laughing as well. In that moment I realized that her approach to the situation was far better than mine! Without her laughter I may have said something that I would have regretted.
As I began to pick up the pieces of glass, I asked the Lord to help me deal with any future potentially negative situations with the same patience and persistence that Barb had displayed.
So when the whip cream erupted that night, I was thankful that my first reaction was not annoyance, but laughter. It was a reminder that God had indeed been working on my heart, helping me to respond to potentially negative situations in a manner that would build others up and not tear them down!