You Can’t Tell Me It’s Just Gas!

How often do people that you encounter find it their God given duty to rain on your parade?  The most innocent, yet, positive comment is body slammed to wallow with them in their negative mud.

In the first baby soft moments I snuggled our grandson, a sleepy grin tugged at his full lips.  

“Ah, Bren’s smiling!” I gushed with enough sugar to turn him pre-diabetic. “He already loves his grandma.”

“Mom, it’s just gas,” spouted one of the ungrateful varmints I painfully birthed roughly a quarter of a century ago.

Had I not been totally spellbound by the much waited for and prayed over bundle of amazing I held in my arms, I would have pulled the portable soapbox from my back pocket and argued that flippant statement.

Who has proof that a baby’s smile is gas? I believe we can all agree, that gas has never made anyone chuckle.  Be extremely uncomfortable is more like it.  Wouldn’t we all love to release the anguish much like….could it be….a screaming baby?  Strange, how no one explains those shrieks away.

As Bren nodded off into his first slumber since arriving into his new world, couldn’t his smile been appreciation that someone rescued him after his long, hard journey? 

Or maybe he was remembering the good ol’ days-mere hours prior? The toasty in-vitro warmth.  The yummy umbilical buffet system.  The comforting Pandora feed of his mama’s constant heart rhythms.

And what about the body of friends he left behind? Of course, they politely shifted to make room for him to grow.  But, how do we know what goes on in there? What if the Liver did stand up, and cracked the Pancreas up with “You know why the Spinal Column is so audacious?  Because he has a lot of nerve.”  Yes, cheesy enough to make the Colon groan.  But without them working together, our little guy wouldn’t have survived.  Wouldn’t there be fond memories with more longevity than a fleeting burp in the pants?

When awake, this little package of energy kicks his legs and waves his arms, Karate Kid style, as his sapphire eyes crinkle and his mouth breaks into beams of toothless happiness.  The innocent fullness of his heart kicks up its heels—until he’s informed that he’s only got indigestion.

Just gas? Pooh!

So, the next time someone puffs:

                “Yes, it’s finally raining, but it’s not going to be enough to matter,”

                 Or “That marriage is doomed,”

                Or “You’re going to try what?  Ridiculous!”

                Or “That situation is hopeless,” remember their point of view does not define the situation.

Their downer tone and  pinched look may indicate you need to offer them a glass of compassion and a handful of Tums.

Every day is a terrible day for a miserable person, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast. Proverbs 15:15