CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON -- The Moral of the Story

“Make it a practice to judge persons and things in the most favorable

light at all times, in all circumstances.”

-- St. Vincent de Paul

On walks, I’ve often realized that things are not always what they

seem to be at first. What looked like a small rock in the distance

suddenly hopped away, what I thought was a dead leaf wiggled away, and I

tripped over something I thought was a shadow but was actually a tree

root.

My vision and perspective are not always correct.

In life, I’ve often realized that people are not always what they

first seem to be either. Interestingly enough, I’ve realized this on

walks as well.

Last week I went for a walk on a beautiful morning. The clouds and sky

were so unique and unusual, it seemed to be God’s way of hinting that

fall was just around the corner.

I walked up a hill and turned onto a dirt path. In the distance, I

could see a man walking his dog, and as they came closer, I thought the

man had a scowl on his face. The dog seemed to have a scowl on his face

as well.

It reminded me of ads that showed strong physical similarities between

dogs and their owners. Both looked a bit frightening to me.

I thought about changing my course but decided not to. Instead I

decided to smile like I normally would. When we were only a few feet

apart, the dog started pulling away from its owner, the leash lengthened

and the dog lurched towards me.

At that point I couldn’t alter my course because of a big hedge. I

said a quick prayer. Then the dog started wagging her tail with such

vigor, I thought she would fall over.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. She just wants to come play with you,” the owner

said.

“She is so big, but she’s really just a big baby,” he added while

bending down to his dog, which soon smothered him with dog kisses.

My assumption and perspective were clearly wrong.

Another time, I was jogging down a twisting hill when I saw a friend.

We decided to walk together. We stopped talking mid-sentence because we

both heard car tires screeching close behind us.

The driver came around the corner so quickly, and honked his horn so

loudly, that my friend and I grabbed each other and practically threw

ourselves into the nearby bushes.

After the car left, we looked at each other, rather shaken, and tried

to figure out what had happened. We were clearly walking on the sidewalk,

but the driver came around the corner so quickly, he must not have seen

clearly. He must have been startled to see people and feared we were in

the street.

Because of the corners and his speed, his perspective was incorrect.

I try to think about those incidents when I am tempted to make a

strong judgement about a person or a situation. Perhaps my vision is

warped, or perhaps I am living at warp speed and can’t possibly view

things correctly.

I pray that God will help me have His perspective so I can more

graciously view anybody and everybody who walks into my life.

And you can quote me on that.

* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks

frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at o7

cindy@onthegrow.comf7 or through the mail at P.O. Box 6140-No. 505,

Newport Beach, CA 92658.