A Very Clean Bathroom Incident

Hysterically crying, she swung open the door to the bathroom at the doctor’s office. Initially, I didn’t know what had happened to my six year old daughter, Lexi, as I stood outside the door looking at a peculiar white substance all over her face. She was rubbing her right eye while the tears were streaming down her face and I could sense that whatever was covering her face was now burning her eye. Through intermittent sobs and wailing, I finally understood that the soap dispenser had squirted a stream directly onto her face and eye. Quickly moving into action, I grabbed a paper towel and wiped away the soap from her beautiful, little face. The drama had finally passed, but her vision remained clouded for several hours following the horrifying experience.Isn’t that how things usually seem to work – normality, an unexpected happening, ensuing pain, and clouded outlook? As a leader, one of the worst times to make major decisions is when you have a clouded outlook. Trials have a tendency to steal our joy and tell us lies. James writes a great piece of advice to Christians who were experiencing harsh persecution under the hand of a wicked king, “…count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting…” (James 1:2-6).James provides a different way for things to work – normality, an unexpected happening, ensuing pain, but then joy, patience, maturity, and asking God for wisdom.