Mudslides!

Mudslides...no not the alcoholic kind - and not the natural disaster kind either. I am talking about one of my children and where the playground 'slide' and 'mud' met my daughter.

Now Colin and Sybella were having fun and the sun was shining but it was only a matter of a few minutes before that when the rain came pouring down. As they prepared to launch themselves down the slide, everyone was laughing and having fun.

Colin was being a big brother and having a blast. Round and round they went swirling to the bottom of the slide. As they got to the bottom, Colin hopped off and left his sister sitting on the end of the slide. The next thing I knew...slip...slide...MUD SLIDE...

OOPS! Now here is the interesting thing, she got up, smiled, and went on playing. THAT'S MY GIRL!

Each of us jumps into life experiences, choices at work, relationships. On the surface things often times start out great and are a lot of fun. There are even times when we are fortunate enough to form friendships from theses experiences or have a mentor come along side us. At some point (sometimes unexpectedly) we find ourselves in a place where we didn't expect to be and face down in the mud. It is not always fun and you can sometimes get really dirty. The question is...how do you handle the situation?

Sybella got up and laughed, some people roll over and cry, others get angry, and yet other people panic. There is a Proverb (15:18) that says, a hot-temper stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel. I also believe that patience lends clarity to difficult situations.

SO...when you find yourself in a muddy situation, just remember this smiling 16 month old full of joy while covered in mud and say to yourself...MUDSLIDE!