Poo falls from heaven

I had a most interesting experience Sunday at Church. I was standing outside, chatting...when out of the blue...poo fell from heaven. That is to say...a bird pooed on my arm. Now...there are worse places where a bird could poo, and it could poo in greater quantities, so I was surprised, but not fazed, and continued chatting. I had never seen a bird poo in front of me before...let alone on my arm. What are the odds?

Now, this afternoon I had a quick decision to make: I needed to get the documents that had just arrived from the USA to our customs agent as soon as possible. Parking there is next to impossible, which would mean finding a place on a side street, walking over, etc. All of which would take up to 20 minutes. Or...I could squeeze in a 30 minute run before our board meeting, which would give me a chance to test my back, which has been quite problematic for the past two or three weeks. So I decided to go for the run. In the first minute of that run, defying all odds and probabilities...not standing still, but running mind you...more poo from the sky. Again...quantity and location were merciful.

I was so moved, so to speak, that I took a picture of the endeavor while I ran. (I apologize...no photographic proof of Sunday's bombing)

The analogies and movements that conspire in your mind after such an event...were quite unexpected.

I suppose it is a time when you might look up...not at the bird, but at rather Him who controls the birds, and say 'why me, Lord?' But that did not occur to me. I did however chuckle and think, remembering in an infinitesimal way the story of Sir Norman Anderson...who when asked if he ever looked back at his life after losing his three children, and his wife of sixty years did not recognize him because of senility...had he ever asked the question "why me?" answered..."No, I've never asked that question, 'Why me?' but I have asked the questions, 'Why not me?'"

If you want to know more a tad bit more about him, and about the promises believers in Christ have about suffering, check out this resource: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ConferenceMessages/ByDate/2008/2724_How_the_Supremacy_of_Christ_Creates_Radical_Christian_Sacrifice/

Granted...this was not exactly suffering on a grand scale...but it is good to be reminded of such things, and have reason to give pause and be grateful for everything you can remember to be grateful for in one's life.

I also remembered the joke/fable that my father told me that has given me much insight over the years:

Once upon a time there was a non-conforming sparrow who decided not to fly south for the winter. However, soon the weather turned so cold that he reluctantly decided to fly south. In a short time ice began to form on his wings and he fell to Earth in a barnyard, nearly frozen solid. A cow passed by where he had fallen, and dumped on the little sparrow. The sparrow thought it was the end, but the manure warmed him and defrosted his wings! Warm and happy, able to breath, he started to sing. Just then a large cat came by, and hearing the chirping he investigated the sounds. The cat cleared away the manure, found the chirping bird, and promptly ate him.

The Moral of the Story:
Everyone who dumps on you is not necessarily your enemy
Everyone who gets you out of poo is not necessarily your friend.
And if you're warm and happy in a pile of poo, you might just want to keep your mouth shut.

The first story seems more spiritual of course...but sometimes I think we also have to remember that what may seem like poo in our lives...may be just exactly what we need to get us back to doing what we were supposed to do. Not to mention the appropriateness of the story in the corporate/secular/Church world sometimes in general.

I thought of a few other things, some interesting theories, etc...but one more I will include here:

It was the first time in my life where it would have been most appropriate to exclaim, as I must confess has become an expression of which I have grown found: "ah, crap on a cracker."