What NOT to do!

Do you see this water feature? It is from the water park that we visited on Thursday.
Do you see something missing?

Have another look, same angle, different time. You can tell by the shadow. Why do I have two of the almost exact same picture? Well, I will tell you! I have NO idea. I TOLD you I am strange!
Have you figured it out yet?

OK, maybe these pictures of the OTHER water features may help:

Have you guessed what is different yet? One more look:
Ok..ok..I will give you a clue. It is heartless...

BEATING hearts, that is! Here is the question: WHERE ARE ALL THE KIDS! When you look a all the other water features, there are children splashing, playing, squirting, running, and...and yes, even spitting. However here are no kids under this one!

I wonder if it is lonely! Does it say to itself, "Why don't little children come and play with ME?" Just like a bully kid, who does not seem to understand why all the other kids avoid him, this poor water feature has no clue to its solitude!

The problem is this...

Oh, yes! It stands there looking all innocent, and then as soon as a child lingers for any amount of time, they get a huge dump of cold water on their head! After a cold shower, each of the kids avoided this one like the plague!

Poor badly designed thing! The kids had NO compassion on it! Did not even try to sooth its hurt feelings by frequenting that spot!

Reminds me of some people I have come across. You know the kind, you are going along -gently cultivating a new friendship, and WHAM...you get hit with a surge of cold water! It could be the time they showed up on your doorstep unannounced at 10pm, or the time they yelled at you for not agreeing with them on a certain issue, or condemned you for something that they SAY is sin (but NOT Biblicaly based), or the unkind thing that they say about someone else, or when they pick apart EVERYTHING you say, or if you are there for them whenever needed -but it is the magic disappearing act when you need them! It can be discouraging to keep getting hit with the blast. The cool thing about this water feature (that makes it more desirable), is that it cannot call you 17 times a day, or follow you around like a bad habit!

Or you may be the person who simply cannot say no to that person! You are a glutton for punishment, and you have difficulty enforcing healthy boundaries.

Now ultimately the goal is for them to come to the place where the surges of cold water cease! Those people especially need the love and kindness of Christ in you! That being said, there is nothing wrong with standing far enough away to keep from getting hit with the blast!

Also, we cannot move on before asking ourselves if we hit our very patient friends with a cold blast every once and again. My sisters are my best friends, and I can think of things I have said over the years that I would gladly take back. Do you see a cold blast in you? What can you do to keep from being that friend, or come back from that place? What can you do to cultivate healthy boundaries!

We should be both sensative to the wounding (that made the "cold blast" friends react to you in the desperate way that they do) and careful to be the kind of friend we would like to have!

You TOO can kick the "cold blast" habit COLD TURKEY!

Turkey? Where? I didn't add a turkey picture to my post?... I am completely lost!...What are you talking about?...Did I miss something..I am ALWAYS so confused!

Strangeness strikes again! Tune in tomorrow for another post from the STRANGE lady!

I need to do a post about turkeys!