| Sunny Side Up! March 7, 2001 Copyright 2001, Kathleen Gibson There's Always a Sunny Side A deep cackle. That was my young adult son's response when I told him the name of this column (which I chose, mind you.) "What was that for?" I asked indignantly. "Oh, nothing," he said, laughing. Lying. I tackled him. "Okay, you think it'll be a stretch for your pessimistic mother to weekly come up with anything remotely sunny. Right?" I braced myself for another 'half-empty glass' discussion. Half-full, I mean. "Something like that." He laughed harder. I keep telling him, but he just doesn't get it. I'm not a pessimist. I'm a realist. There's a hairline fissure between the two. Nevertheless, in the interest of integrity, I confess to seeing the bare spots on the lawn before admiring the green expanses, the fly in the salad before eating the lettuce, the...oh, you know what I mean. Those things need attention, after all. So what would a nice little realist like me be doing writing a column titled "Sunny Side Up"? Not for the money, honey, nor for the show. It has everything to do with the second part of that little ditty - three to get ready, and four to go. I've been a practicing Christian since I was a child. (Please note...practicing does not make perfect.) That's long enough to discover that having faith doesn't guarantee the cherry won't slide off the sundae. It doesn't even guarantee the sundae. But it sure helps when faced with the empty dish. And when even that is gone - well, faith is the fuel needed for starting over. To get ready, to go. There's a verse in Phillipians. Chaper 4, verse 8. Basically it reminds the reader to fill one's mind with good, pure, lovely, praiseworthy thoughts. It's a marvelous challenge. It's an impossible challenge, says the realist side of me - far too sunny side up, I'm afraid. Yet it's my relationship with God that makes this possible, helps me look at our beleaguered world through the eyes of a sane faith. Eyes that see realistically, a mind that questions frequently, a heart that chooses to believe that God�s fingerprint is beauty, and that if you look for it, you�ll find it. When we were first married, my husband asked me how I liked my eggs. "Sunny side up, please," I said. We sat down to breakfast, but something was missing. I went to the fridge and got it. He stared. "Tell me you're not going to put that on your egg," he said. "Okay. I'm not going to put that on my egg." I proceeded to sprinkle that lovely white and yellow disc all over with vinegar. He gagged. I don't know what the columns ahead will hold. I'm aiming my pen in the direction of the faith-filled sunny side, in search of God�s exquisite fingerprints. But please remember. I like a little vinegar sometimes. That much, I�ll grant my son. |