God Is Not the Orkin Man

I absolutely refuse to throw-up! I know that's an odd and slightly disgusting way to start a blog post, but it is the truth. My wife has actually used the phrase, "If you throw up you'll probably feel better." My normal response is to pick up my fever soaked brow, glare at her and say between clenched teeth, "I refuse to throw up!" By my recollection, I was in second grade the last time I did. My mom had taken me to the doctor, and I had to go to the restroom. To put it politely, it took a while for me to eat pepperoni pizza again. My mom probably doesn't remember this, but for some reason it sticks in my mind. The reason I bring this up is because of the misconception I had as a child that somehow the pizza caused the sickness. There are any number of things that could have caused me to become sick, but the meal I had two hours before was most likely not the culprit. Our perception of reality is often just as important as what actually happened. If any of you have kids then I'm sure you've heard the "They did it on purpose!" cry. To a four year old, or a thirteen year old for that matter, the accidental bump of a sibling was not only on purpose, but done with the evil intention to maim them and/or possibly kill them. My four year old twins are quite often proof of this. Adults may chuckle at this picture, but we're not much different. How often have we been offended by the casual remark of a family member, friend, or acquaintance and then fumed at home for days about it. Sometimes we go so far as to let misunderstandings change life long friendships, our career, even our families.