Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Dirty Socks, Puppy Training and Pink Shoes



There are times when listeners can get wrapped up in the story or illustration that a speaker uses and miss the point.  I recall one of the first times I learned this.  Wayne and I were presenting the sermon one Friday at the non-denominational church we attended in Tehran, Iran many years ago. (Have I gotten you distracted by the details of my illustration?  Are you wondering: “What were you doing in Iran?  Was it safe? Why a sermon on Friday and not Sunday? You have just illustrated my point.)  As a punctuation to my message, I, a bride of one year, said something about my husband leaving dirty socks on the bedroom floor.  I’m sure that whatever I was talking about was profound.  But in the “after-service-coffee-hour” I had many people give me their “dirty-sock” stories.  My illustration had captured their attention and drowned the significant truth I was trying to expound.

Several years later I spoke in the chapel of my Alma mater on the topic of spiritual growth.  I used the illustration about our darling cocker spaniel puppy.  If I was doing that presentation today I’d probably show his picture on the screen.  But we didn’t have power point slides or projectors then. (Are you now remembering back to those ancient days or counting how many iterations of technology have evolved since that time?  Or maybe you’re trying to remember what it was like to use transparencies and overhead projectors?  I heard someone the other day ask a young person if she had a mimeograph machine to make a copy for him.  Stay with me, don’t get distracted.  I haven’t made my point yet.) When I said, “cocker spaniel” an audible “aww” rose from the audience of collegians.  I definitely had their attention.  My illustration revolved around the demanding job of training a puppy and how difficult it was to force him out into the snow to do his business.  The snow accumulation was higher than he was tall and he didn’t know what to do but stand at the door and whine. “As much as my heart broke for him,” I told the students, “if I wanted a trustworthy pet for the future, he and I had to endure this grueling training.  No matter how much he whined, I knew what was best for him.”  If you haven’t gotten lost thinking of how cute cockers are or re-living the potty training of your two-year-old, you have probably gotten my real point.  “I am often like our cocker spaniel whining, ‘God, don’t do this to me.  Let me in.  I want to be comfortable. And he keeps tossing me into the cold.”

I know I made my point very specific and direct, but can you guess how many people afterward commented on cocker spaniels or their own dog training methods and experiences? (Maybe just now you want to tell me about yours)  I wanted to hear from the students where God was stretching their formable lives.  I wanted them to share how imprinting his image on them was an uncomfortable even painful experience.  I wanted them to testify of their desire to submit to his will. That was not what I got.

But I can’t be too critical of them because when I was sitting years earlier in those chapel seats, we had a speaker named Winkie Pratney.  A name like that sticks in your mind.  (Google him later, not now) Winkie, too, was there to inspire and challenge.  I don’t remember his text or theme, but I remember his illustration and it has challenged me time and time again in the years since then.  Then I was enthralled with his story, but I had no idea the recurring impact it would have on the decisions I’d make in the future.  

Another illustration that I call “Pink Shoes” has brought depth to my spiritual walk and growth. From a very attractive, vibrant, articulate, inspiring speaker at a women’s retreat, I took away this story.  

Shelley or Sheila, (I really don’t remember her name, and of course the name is not important.  But I am trying to trip you up.  Is it working?) while window shopping, saw a delightful and completely impractical pair of pink shoes.  She knew she could not spend the little money she had on them. That money was already designated for “necessities” like rent, gasoline and feeding her children. The temptation for those shoes was great because they would be a perfect enhancement  to a dress hanging in her closet. The temptation was resisted, but she did offer up a prayer to God about how marvelous the shoes would look on her feet and if he wanted to bless her with them, she would accept.  Within a short period of time, an envelope of money was handed to her with the words, “Do something for yourself.”  She knew exactly what to do.  She was right. The pink shoes looked spectacular with the dress.  In fact, feeling very stylish and put together, she wore the ensemble to a dinner party where she met an executive from a TV station.  He was impressed with her abilities and style. That encounter led to her hosting a talk show…

And undoubtedly that fame and exposure was why she was speaking at a retreat I was attending.  She and I knew from her illustration that the pink shoes were only the cherry on top of all that God had invested in her for such a time as that.  The pink shoes played a minor role and God made sure she had all that she needed to fill that role.

Shelley or Sheila’s story resounds for me today (I’ve I experience God acting similarly at times in my own life and I bet you’re thinking of incidents in yours as well. I’d like to read about them in the comment section. By-the-way, this distraction is not missing the point, this is getting the point.). The truth her story gave me then is imperative to my current prayers.  I could say that I’m praying a lot of “pink-shoe prayers”, but I’m concerned someone might think I am praying for pink shoes. (Not you, of course)

  “All that is needed…All that is needed” God provides. For years the “Pink Shoes” illustration has helped me remember that truth.

If you’re thinking pink shoes are silly or frivolous (maybe you do because you’ve gotten trapped in my illustrations instead of getting the point) then let me show you just how interested God is in such things.  

When it was Esther’s turn to go to the king…she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch in charge of the harem, had recommended….The king fell in love with Esther…

…and because she had the right accessory (okay, partly because she had the right accessory) all the Jews were saved from slaughter.  Sometimes frivolous items are important! 

Esther’s story is so full of drama with twists and turns that it is easy to get mesmerized and forget the point.  What is the point? Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:6 and 11 (KJV)

Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things …Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition…

Illustrations and stories are tangible, imaginable, and relatable.  They are invaluable for helping us land on the point, immediately, later or even much later.

I remember the points made by the puppy training and the pink shoes.  I can’t remember what I wanted to communicate with the illustration of the dirty socks. However, on the eve of our 43rd wedding anniversary, I think I could come up with an even better point.