Back in the day, Walt Disney Studios released a film titled “Babes in Toyland”. While little known now, at the time, it was instantly proclaimed a “classic”. (I only mention this here because I have chosen to appropriate the title for my blog post today; and I fear that only we old dogs will get the pun if it is not explained.)
That being said, our four oldest grandsons (ages four though seven) spent the night last night. And in one of those unscripted moments, I learned a lesson from an exchange between one of my grandsons and my wife.
In the midst of a bowl of what can arguably be called salt flavored with popcorn, a can of caffeine labeled Coca-Cola, and an engrossing movie involving pirates, treasure, sharks, and the like, he suddenly bolted upright and announced that he needed me to pause the movie because he had to make a “pit stop”.
Thirty seconds later, I heard him say, “Hey, the light is blinking in here!” For my part, this simple, forthright exclamation brought about an intense relief.
You see, for several days now, anytime I was in that restroom, I, too, thought I sensed a subtle flickering in the light. I puzzled over this considerably. I wondered, first of all, if there was a short in the wiring of the light. Initially, I grew concerned that perhaps this was the case; and I wondered if I should call in an electrician to check this out.
Still, not completely convinced this was the issue, I pondered the matter further. I soon found myself wondering if the light really was flickering. If not, could it be that there was something going on with my own eyesight? Were my eyes somehow flickering in the midst of otherwise perfectly good light? Did I need to make an appointment with an Optometrist? If I did, would he or she then send me to an Ophthalmologist? And if so, would that be a Geriatric Ophthalmologist, a Neuro Ophthalmologist, or an Ocular Oncologist? Where was all this headed? What on earth was I facing? Just how bad off were my poor eyes?
But then I pondered the situation further, and asked myself if this was so, then why was this happening only in the bathroom and not in any other room? Could it be this was because there was no window there? Maybe that was it. Maybe it was all related to too much artificial light! Yes, that was it! It must be! And did I not now need to find a way to get more natural light into the bathroom?
But how would I do that? After all, the bathroom was not located on an exterior wall. Finally, I realized what I needed to do. A skylight! Yes, that was clearly the solution. All I would need to do was to tear a hole in the roof and get some natural light into the place. Ouch! Just what was that going to cost me!
What in the world was going on here?!
Seriously, at the end of the day, if my house was not about to burn down, or if I was not about to go blind, or if I was not about to be on the line for tens of thousands of dollars in construction costs, then what possible way was there out of this dilemma?
Unwittingly, my wife came to my rescue and provided the answer! “It sounds like the light bulb may be going bad,” she replied aloud to my grandson. “Granddaddy will change it out later. Now hurry up, so we can turn the movie back on.”
What can I say? The light suddenly came on! Not so much in the bathroom, as in my head!
So, what did I do? Naturally, in the moment, I kept my mouth shut, feigning ignorance of the whole issue. But as soon as my wife and grandsons had all settled down for the night, I sheepishly slipped into the bathroom and replaced the light bulb. Thankfully, no more has been heard of flickering light in the bathroom.
And now, for the sixty-four thousand dollar question… “Why am I sharing all of this?”
Precisely because, at the end of the day, I have been reminded that I spent a disproportionate amount of time worrying about nothing! Let’s face it - I had turned a proverbial molehill in to a proverbial mountain!
As a result of this episode, I have thought a lot about the words of Jesus, Who once asked us why we spend so much time worrying. In the New Testament Gospel of Matthew (chapter 6, verse 28), He asked: “Why do you worry?”
As if to answer His own question, not once, but twice in that same chapter, He admonished us not to worry. Thus, He went on to state: “So do not worry!” and “Therefore, do not worry!”
By my own admission, I wasted a whole lot of time worrying unnecessarily about a simple flickering light. But that has caused me to reconsider just how many other such trivial things I have spent precious and irretrievable moments fretting over.
Maybe, just maybe, this whole episode has shed a little more light on what all else I have spent unwarranted amounts of time unnecessarily worrying about. More to the point, maybe, just maybe, I have been reminded to spend less time worrying and more time listening to someone who may actually know, not only what I am facing, but also what the solution to my issue is!
SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babes_in_Toyland_(1961_film).
SCRIPTURE:
https://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/6.htm.
That being said, our four oldest grandsons (ages four though seven) spent the night last night. And in one of those unscripted moments, I learned a lesson from an exchange between one of my grandsons and my wife.
In the midst of a bowl of what can arguably be called salt flavored with popcorn, a can of caffeine labeled Coca-Cola, and an engrossing movie involving pirates, treasure, sharks, and the like, he suddenly bolted upright and announced that he needed me to pause the movie because he had to make a “pit stop”.
Thirty seconds later, I heard him say, “Hey, the light is blinking in here!” For my part, this simple, forthright exclamation brought about an intense relief.
You see, for several days now, anytime I was in that restroom, I, too, thought I sensed a subtle flickering in the light. I puzzled over this considerably. I wondered, first of all, if there was a short in the wiring of the light. Initially, I grew concerned that perhaps this was the case; and I wondered if I should call in an electrician to check this out.
Still, not completely convinced this was the issue, I pondered the matter further. I soon found myself wondering if the light really was flickering. If not, could it be that there was something going on with my own eyesight? Were my eyes somehow flickering in the midst of otherwise perfectly good light? Did I need to make an appointment with an Optometrist? If I did, would he or she then send me to an Ophthalmologist? And if so, would that be a Geriatric Ophthalmologist, a Neuro Ophthalmologist, or an Ocular Oncologist? Where was all this headed? What on earth was I facing? Just how bad off were my poor eyes?
But then I pondered the situation further, and asked myself if this was so, then why was this happening only in the bathroom and not in any other room? Could it be this was because there was no window there? Maybe that was it. Maybe it was all related to too much artificial light! Yes, that was it! It must be! And did I not now need to find a way to get more natural light into the bathroom?
But how would I do that? After all, the bathroom was not located on an exterior wall. Finally, I realized what I needed to do. A skylight! Yes, that was clearly the solution. All I would need to do was to tear a hole in the roof and get some natural light into the place. Ouch! Just what was that going to cost me!
What in the world was going on here?!
Seriously, at the end of the day, if my house was not about to burn down, or if I was not about to go blind, or if I was not about to be on the line for tens of thousands of dollars in construction costs, then what possible way was there out of this dilemma?
Unwittingly, my wife came to my rescue and provided the answer! “It sounds like the light bulb may be going bad,” she replied aloud to my grandson. “Granddaddy will change it out later. Now hurry up, so we can turn the movie back on.”
What can I say? The light suddenly came on! Not so much in the bathroom, as in my head!
So, what did I do? Naturally, in the moment, I kept my mouth shut, feigning ignorance of the whole issue. But as soon as my wife and grandsons had all settled down for the night, I sheepishly slipped into the bathroom and replaced the light bulb. Thankfully, no more has been heard of flickering light in the bathroom.
And now, for the sixty-four thousand dollar question… “Why am I sharing all of this?”
Precisely because, at the end of the day, I have been reminded that I spent a disproportionate amount of time worrying about nothing! Let’s face it - I had turned a proverbial molehill in to a proverbial mountain!
As a result of this episode, I have thought a lot about the words of Jesus, Who once asked us why we spend so much time worrying. In the New Testament Gospel of Matthew (chapter 6, verse 28), He asked: “Why do you worry?”
As if to answer His own question, not once, but twice in that same chapter, He admonished us not to worry. Thus, He went on to state: “So do not worry!” and “Therefore, do not worry!”
By my own admission, I wasted a whole lot of time worrying unnecessarily about a simple flickering light. But that has caused me to reconsider just how many other such trivial things I have spent precious and irretrievable moments fretting over.
Maybe, just maybe, this whole episode has shed a little more light on what all else I have spent unwarranted amounts of time unnecessarily worrying about. More to the point, maybe, just maybe, I have been reminded to spend less time worrying and more time listening to someone who may actually know, not only what I am facing, but also what the solution to my issue is!
SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babes_in_Toyland_(1961_film).
SCRIPTURE:
https://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/6.htm.