No one seems to notice that it is now May 11th. The celebration of Cinco de Mayo occured almost a week ago, but for whatever reason-- the festivities continue. In the past week I have seen four different piñatas demolished. It's caused me to reflect a little on life. That probably sounds funny, and maybe I wouldn't have taken time to ponder los pensamientos sobre la piñata, but something happened to me Monday night that seemed to foreshadow upcoming tutorials. You see that night George gave me a bloody nose. That's right, my darling boy rolled over suddenly and kicked me in the nose! Ouch.
It hurt. But since life has been tough for us these past few months, I took it personally. It seemed to accentuate and give voice to the feelings of inadequacy that I've been battling. It was embarassing. I know better than to leave my face an open target, but I wasn't expecting a blow to come from that corner. Has anyone you love or loved ever given you a bloody nose?
I understood something tonight as I watched people whacking a poor little piñata. Life is going to hit you hard at times. Different people or experiences will want to have their way with you. It will feel like you've lost control-- someone or something is letting down the rope and jerking you around as life hits you again and again. But there is hope. I saw it tonight in a fiesty little piñata-- he was what we might call a tough or smart burro (insert your own translation at will). No one was able to break him completely. They might hit him and knock out a treat or two, but he was tough stuff. He didn't cave in or let go. Whack! Whack! Whack!
So what was the difference between him and the other burros? I can't say for sure-- they looked exactly the same and must have been made of the same materials. But there was something different in him. I was listening earlier today to a passage in Matthew 7: 24-25, it reads, "Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock." The Lord then goes on to tell of a foolish man whose house fell because he built it on the sand.
We are all going to get hit again and again in this life. We'll get bloody noses when we least expect it. But it can't break us if we're made of tough stuff or built on a solid foundation. We can weather the worst of it-- we just need to choose to be a wise man . . . or a smart burro.