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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: ACT (05/05/22)
It was supposed to be a simple act. Turns out it was not. I needed only to shake my niece’s right hand and place the diploma in her other hand. When she walked across the stage, I was caught up with emotion and my hands fumbled. I suddenly felt overwhelmed, as if my hands (and my brain) had forgotten what to do and so, there was not a well-placed handshake, nor was there the graceful exchange of the diploma from my hand to hers. She laughed a little, as did I, and then after forgetting to pose for a picture with the president of the university, he jumped between our looped arms as we were exiting the stage. With an extended hand waving and a booming voice, he called out “Congratulations.” Whoops. I was certain the flub would be noticed by my colleagues and the entirety of the 2,000 plus people in attendance. My dalliance with the ceremony did not stop there. As we walked the side aisle headed towards the exit, my shoe caught in the rubber matting that covered the gymnasium’s hardwood floors. I walked right out of my shoe and worse yet, I couldn’t easily place my foot back into the shoe because my foot was numb due to recent nerve damage. I gathered up what seemed like an endless heap of academic regalia, made of black polyester, and with my cap dangling from my head, I searched for the foot that belonged in the shoe. There wasn’t anything to lean on and my balance at 56 isn’t nearly what it used to be, so there I was, hanging onto my niece’s arm as I wrangled the shoe and my foot back together. I felt as if I had let her down. What was supposed to be a celebrated, dignified moment, had turned into a comedy of errors. It was a moment that I could not get back. No do-overs. No second chances.

There was a man sitting in the front row, who saw the whole thing and in the midst of my struggles, he reached out to me, smiled, and said, “It’s okay. At least three or four other people have done the same thing today.” I was grateful for his words and the perspective he gave me. I was not alone.

As I reflected on the events of the day, I started thinking about all the times, when there was only one chance to get something right, and how painful that can be. I thought too, of all that Christ has offered me through his death and resurrection and that this has saved me when I have made mistakes or lost my way. There is more than one chance to get things right. More than one chance to make a change. More than one chance for a do-over. He offers that to me and all those who believe, again and again, and that is grace at its finest.

The reminder of Christ’s greatest act of love for me, is alive in my heart and when all else got bungled up in that moment because of my own nervousness or perhaps excitement paired with a fair dose of clumsiness, God made certain that there was someone to remind me immediately that I was not alone, and that made my embarrassment less. In fact, I was able to laugh at the way things had turned out. My niece and I both laughed and have a memory that is unique and unlike any other.

I wonder if my arrival in heaven will be similar. I wish to be humble, to kneel in the presence of the Almighty, and to hear Him say, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” It may turn out, however, that I trip over myself in a hurried excitement to look upon His face. Perhaps, I will clumsily fall when I mean to kneel, caught off balance by the wonders I see. I may even run out of my shoes, joyful to be in the presence of the King. I have been wonderfully made in His image, (Psalm 139:14) and He knows every day that will be given to me. I can make amends. I can start again. I can choose another course. I can laugh when life’s small trials try and get the better of me, and I can be confident that God knows my thoughts, my insecurities, my hopes and dreams, and I suspect, even the shoes I wear.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Philippa Geaney
05/14/22
I loved your story. The final paragraphs were excellent. And they were dependent on the first They would have surpassed excellence if there'd been a little more 'show' rather than 'tell', as they say but I'm certainly not qualified enough to say how - had I been writing your piece I'd have needed more than the week to have a go.