How about you show me — and don’t tell me

BrendaBy Brenda Cannon Henley
I wonder if some people ever stop and think about how they are perceived in their world? How do folks that are family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers, association affiliates, community leaders, and those who want badly to be out in front of others envision others as seeing what they do, or say, or feel? Spending a great deal of time in thought and prayer about this matter, I decided to put it to the test a bit before I sat down to write this message. Are we all still caught up in the “I am still a hot teen with curly hair and no wrinkles?” and the “I can do no wrong” image that we’d like to see looking back from that mirror in our bathrooms or bedrooms? Do we all really think we are still that 16-year-old girl ready for the first date or the hot stud football player with a trim body, quick speed, and a fast car? I know we tend to see ourselves in a better light that perhaps we really are.

A good illustration for me personally happened when I organized my high school class reunion back in Georgia. We were all so excited, filled with anticipation, and if truth be told, just a hint of ambivalence concerning how we might have changed or how we would appear to the others in our group. Joy outweighed fear and we dressed our best. Some got new hair dos and dyes, others tried to lose weight, still others bought new clothing, and at least one rented a different automobile to drive to the festivities. Photographs were carefully packed, football guides, prom pictures, notes, and other mementos of the “good old days” were brought along for all to share. Once we gathered, it did not take us all long to determine we all had changed — some much more than others — and some for the better while others for the worse. After we had been together one evening, we found ourselves loosening up, laughing loudly, dancing the night away, telling time worn stories, and having a ball.

One of our classmates’ husbands owned photography and video equipment and he was kind enough to film and produce a CD of the entire reunion and hand it to us on our way out from the last breakfast together. Getting home to Texas, I proudly gathered my children and grandchildren together in front of the wide screen and sat down to watch my memories on parade. I pointed out close friends, fellow drill team members, cheerleaders, yearbook staff, and newspaper friends, and my children sat spellbound. They saw faces I had called by name for years. When it was over, my grandson Steven looked at me very seriously and said, “MaMa, what in the world were you doing up there in Georgia with all of those old people?” Yep, he went to the top of the will and has stayed there. You see, Steven saw me, his grandmother, in his light. I was the one that cooked his favorite food, drove him places before he got a license, kept his clothing cleaned and pressed, and helped with homework. I did birthday parties, bought Christmas presents, and did classroom festivities. He loves me, so his vision toward me was slanted.

I have lived long enough to know that we change. Our bodies cannot keep up with our minds. We get busy. We are overloaded. We get in a hurry. We hurt people and we cause trouble from time to time. Our memories begin to slip a little (and some a lot), and we get into what my pastor called “tunnel vision.” We become oriented to just what we see, what we feel, what we want, and sometimes, we forget there is a whole big world out there watching very carefully.

St. Francis of Assisi wrote many years ago, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and where necessary, use words.” Another writer penned, “The living truth I long to see, I cannot live on what used to be. So, close now your Bible, and simply show me, how the Christ you talk about is living now.” We, who claim to be good Christian people, show the world who and what we really are by our actions. We also demonstrate Whose we are. When we are mean and bitter and hateful to others who may have made mistakes, are we being very Christ like? Does our need to be thought so well of by others completely overshadow our common sense? Do we get outlandish on selfish tangents and become hell bent on tearing someone or something else apart? Is our every word and deed negative and hurtful and boastful?

Think about it today, folks. What do we want the world to see in our lives? I pray that others can see Christ in our daily actions, our words, our deeds, and in our thoughts. If we truly are attempting to demonstrate Christ in our lives, we will be helpful, kind, concerned, giving, and most of all, truthful with others. Our world will be a better place. (Mark 16:15)

(This article published 2/23/2015)

Brenda Cannon Henley can be reached at (409) 781-8788, at
[email protected], or by using the contact form below.

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One Response to “How about you show me — and don’t tell me”

  1. Judy Reynolds says:

    I know good & well that I can not possibly be as old as those people I went to school with!! LOL!!! And you certainly aren’t either!! Bless Steven’s heart-he knows we are still in our thirties!

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