There's a scene in an episode of The Simpsons that humorously portrays how we sometimes think about situations in our life. In the scene (from Season 10, Episode 19--Mom and Pop Art) Homer is trailering his failed "BBQ pit" project on a kid's wagon, when all of a sudden, the back bumper of his car falls off and with it goes the project. Looking back out of the window, he watches cars as they swerve to avoid the wagon-- until at last the wagon flips up and on top of the hood of an unidentified car. Looking into his rear-view mirror now and seeing the damage, Homer mutters "Uh-oh," quickly angles the mirror to another direction to focus on a field of tranquil deer and lets out a deep sigh of relief. He's safe...for now.
In our life, we might think that by simply "angling our mirror," we might not have to look at, think about, or worry about those things that trouble us. And yet, those things that trouble us are still there--they're just out of view for the moment.
The season of summer is a wonderful time to spend hours outdoors, soak in the sun, relax at the beach, sit around the campfire, take a hike in the woods, canoe the lakes and rivers, or take a vacation.
There's the thought:
"It's summer...maybe the time outdoors will help my spouse control that anger problem."
"Maybe this summer vacation will help reignite the spark in a our marriage that was lost a long time ago."
"Why worry about all the negative things when there's so much fun stuff to do!"
A new angle, yes.
And still, there remains the difficulty. It's just out of view for the moment.
Don't just "angle the mirror" in another direction and think that the difficulty will go away or never happened. The difficulties we face in our life and relationships, after all, don't differentiate between seasons. They'll happen when they happen.
Take the time to look into your difficulties today.
It's early! The sun, beach, woods, and lake aren't going anywhere soon.
