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AH! GOTCHA!
Copyright 2001 Debbie Porter 

"I believe it is our attitude that determines our altitude. It is our attitude that allows us to soar above those things that would otherwise overcome us."

Matt looked as though he'd just been a couple of rounds with Evander Holyfield.

It was hard to believe that only 24 hours had passed since he'd first noticed the tiny red spot on his eyelid. At the time he'd run to show his Dad and me, only to be met by the same luke warm response. It wasn't that we were being mean or didn't care, but we honestly couldn't see what he was talking about.

"What's wrong with you two!" Matt had thrown his hands up in disgust and added "parental blindness" to his list of trials that a teenager must contend with when in the care of the "rapidly aging".

By the next morning that "invisible" little dot had spread across his eyelid and was starting to look a bit irritated. By that afternoon it was very red, swollen and down right furious! A trip to the Doctor was needed, where the diagnosis was pronounced that Matt had an infected oil duct in the upper eyelid. In other words, he had a type of stye and warm compresses and a short course of antibiotic eyedrops was the recommended treatment.

Heading for home with our little bottle of drops, my thoughts were already running miles ahead:

What if a meteor crashes through the ceiling and annihilates us all?

Well, that last one didn't actually cross my mind, but the other five certainly were having a debate up there! The "what ifs" were running rampant!

The moment finally came and Matt sat calmly at the kitchen table with his eyes turned to the ceiling (no doubt waiting for that meteor) as I prepared the bottle. Leaning carefully over my very patient "patient", I gingerly opened his eyelid and attempted to let the drop fall gently where it was meant to go.

Slowly a little drop appeared at the end of the bottle. Holding it steady over Matt's eye I waited for the drop to fall. When it disappeared I stepped back relieved only to be told by Matt that nothing had happened. Sure enough, the sneaky little drip (that's the antibiotic, not Matthew) had slipped back up into the bottle.

With fresh determination I took aim once more, gave a gentle squeeze and "plop", a little drop of medication splashed into Matt's waiting eye.

"AH! GOTCHA!" I stepped back in triumph, although I noticed that an extra little drop had slipped out and was sliding happily down Matt's nose.

As I turned back to the counter, my son began to laugh. Not just a little giggle or chuckle, but a real, honest to goodness belly laugh. Imagining that it was because of the rebel drip now rolling merrily on its way, I admitted that I'd seen the drop bottle escapee. Matt just laughed even more.

"No! That's not it!" He managed to get the words out between waves of laughter.

Seeing my puzzled look, he burst out with the explanation, "GOTCHA? You make it sound like you accomplished something really big. Like you achieved some really big goal or something!"

It started as a little smile when the corners of my mouth began to curl upwards. Then came the chuckle and before long I was laughing as well. He was quite right! Once again I'd made a mountain out of a molehill and allowed something totally insignificant to take up way too much of my thought life.

What on earth was so hard about the procedure? You take one eyeball, one bottle, one drip! It didn't take a neurosurgeon to handle it, so why had I allowed myself to start listing all the possibilities that could go wrong?

I'll admit that this is one of my weaknesses, but it can also be a strength when teamed alongside someone who's a "jump first, ask questions later" type visionary. There is room for those of us who like to cover all the bases and make sure consideration is given to possible difficulties. But it most definitely becomes a hindrance when it steps in and douses cold water on creativity, holds a person back from reaching their potential, or even worse, takes the place of faith.

Now for me, even the suggestion of a family picnic will immediately bring on the mental gymnastics. Steve says that he can see it in my eyes and just labels it as Deb worrying again. But it isn't. Actually it's just me trying to sort out what needs to be organized, what order to do it in, and what possibilities to prepare for. It would only become a problem if I said, "I'm sorry, there are just too many unknown factors so we'll all have to stay home."

Why am I like this? Probably temperament more than anything, but I do remember my mother having a very old hand-written list on pink paper that would be pulled out every time a family picnic was about to happen. It was an enormous check list that had absolutely everything we may need for our outing right down to a "face washer for Debbie". I guess I must have been a bit of a messy eater when I was a toddler and that notation on Mom's list was there years after I needed someone to wipe my face and hands for me.

So there just may be a little touch of heredity in my lack of spontaneity. When it comes to the day to day nuts and bolts of life, who cares? But when it comes to our Christian walk it can be a different matter altogether. When God very clearly says "Go!" we have to be careful not to start saying "Whoa!"

We need to overcome whatever it is that causes us to hesitate just a little too long before jumping into God's plans and purposes. Whether it's fear, doubt, lack of belief in our ability or just plain pessimism, we need to change our thinking to faith! Not just optimistic, pie in the sky hoping, but assured and confident belief that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13 NIV)

As Jesus said:

So when we start making mountains out of molehills, we can have confidence that if we exercise our faith in Christ, God will turn those mountains into wide-open spaces!

Our attitude will make all the difference to how we respond to God's leading. An attitude of fear and doubt will lead us nowhere. But an attitude of faith will cause us to jump to attention as soon as we hear God's call. That same spirit of trust and obedience will send us joyfully running to follow.

When God shows us the way, He really only wants one response. "GOTCHA!" ("My soul followeth hard after thee." Psalm 63:8a KJV)

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I couldn't fit this little quote into the article, but I can't resist sharing it with you here. It made me smile, but it's also so very true!