This blog is dedicated to all the people out there who think there is only one way to do something, or for those who live with someone who thinks like this.
There is more than one way to skin a cat. A disgusting proverb, for sure. But, its meaning is profound: there are always several ways to do something.
When my son Caleb was about 5, we were on our way to Grandma’s house. My husband turned on the left blinker, and I immediately corrected him saying, “Why aren’t you going the RIGHT way?” Caleb chirped in, “Mommy, there is more than one way to get to Grandma’s house.” God used that sweet little voice in the backseat that day to get my attention. It was a habit of mine to think that my way was the right way, and quite possibly, the only way.
I didn’t want my husband to make the mistake of going the wrong way, but why? To a perfectionist, there is a right way. A perfectionist might view a proven way to do something as “the only way” because it lessens the possibility of mistakes. For a perfectionist, mistakes are a sign of personal defects. Whereas people who strive for excellence can make mistakes and see those mistakes as an incentive to work harder, a perfectionist will see mistakes as a personal failure.
Now, I don’t know if Anna, my 14th month old thought of what happened this morning as a personal failure of hers or not, but the incident reminded me of some great lessons. I bought Anna a training sippy cup that has a straw. At breakfast this morning, being so used to tipping these type of cups up, she automatically did that and was a little frustrated when nothing came out. I tried to it explain it to her as I pulled the cup down so she could get the apple juice. You can imagine what a one year old’s response was: she threw the cup down and cried big crocodile tears.
The lesson? Sometimes there really is more than one way to hold a sippy cup, and even if we don’t like it, the other way might actually be more beneficial to us.
Her response reminded me that sometimes I too act like this when God is trying to show me something new, trying to lead me in a different direction or simply correcting me. Anna’s mistake of holding the sippy cup wasn’t a personal failure. She just didn’t know better. I can think of a lot of instances in my life where I really didn’t know better, but I thought I did. The attitude is what counts. Am I willing to do things God’s way, or do I insist that my way is the right way? Can I be open to learning new things and doing new things? Can I do things another way? And most importantly to those who have to live with me, can I allow others to do things another way?
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photo(s) courtesy of Stock.XCHNG (http://www.sxc.hu)
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