Bendy Straws

My dear wife is gaining strength day by day, but for almost a year, she has had limited mobility.  One of her creature comforts has been using those “bendy” straws.  You know, straws that have the flexible end so that you can easily drink out of a glass while reclining without spilling the drink all over you as you take the first sip.  So, last week we ran out of her bendy straws.  Bummer.  So, I saved the last one until I could get to the grocery store to get some more.  I dumped her melted ice into the kitchen sink and rinsed the bendy straw with warm water.  Remember, it’s a “bendy” straw.  As I stood at the sink rinsing the bendy straw, the bent part of the straw happened to be facing me, so the warm water squirted all over my shorts.  It looked like I had wet myself!  So, I shut off the water, checked to see that my wife was not watching me, and sneaked back into the bedroom where I changed my shorts.  I came back into the kitchen and finished cleaning the straw … taking particular care that the bendy straw was pointing into the sink.  Hey, have you ever made an embarrassing mistake?  The first thing that I do is to make sure that no one saw me make the mistake.  The next thing that I do is to cover up my mistake.  But all too often, I make an awkward excuse for my mistake.  The better way is to laugh at my mistake with others and go on with life.  Solomon said in Proverbs 29:23, “A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.”  Laughter and a humble spirit are important.  And, facing the bendy straw in the right direction helps.