Looking for Ponies

I was recently at the beach with friends on a mini-vacation. The day we arrived was a bit cloudy and threatening to rain, so we were ducking into shops here and there. Out of the blue, one of the shop owners commented to my friend, “If you’re in a barn full of manure, there is always a pony. Find it.” Apparently that was his version of “if life gives you lemons, make lemonade” or “see the glass as half full rather than half empty”. The shop owner was making a point, of course, that if rain was threatening our vacation, we needed to find happiness in his shop. I passed it off as just another one of those irritating optimistic taglines.

But it stuck with me.

In my mind, I’m a very down-to-earth, realistic person. You know, "balanced". I guess we all like to think of ourselves as that.  However, when I started dating Vince, he was quick to point out that I fall on the pessimistic side of the spectrum. I still want to deny it, but I know it's got some truth to it. A few years ago when I did “strengths and weaknesses” with a close group of friends, I was told that one of my weaknesses is my mood swings. Particularly how I really wear my negative feelings and outlooks on my sleeve. So it's true – I have to confess that I can be a bit of a moody pessimist.

An example of this is how I easily I expect worst case scenarios and outcomes in almost every situation. I hide it much better these days, but it's not unusual for me to see the dark side before I see the light. I see this as a problem, of course. A wise man (aka Vince) often tells me, “Pessimism is the absence of hope.” And since I’m a redeemed individual, I’ve been given the gift of hope.  Hence, I’ve been asking God to refine that part of me and help me start concentrating less on the stench and more on the ponies.

So what I like about finding ponies in barns full of manure is the fact that it doesn’t eliminate the manure. In fact, you’re most likely going to have to WALK through it to find that pony. The point is - you can’t have one without the other. Life consists of both ponies and manure. Wade through the manure – not just to get out of the barn – but to find that pony.

I find myself looking for ponies these days, and to my amazement, they are so out there. Every time I see one, it blows me away.  Passion 2012 starts in a few days, and this year my role has changed from leading a small group to leading the entire camp. It's not a role I begged for, and so once again, I have caught myself repeatedly preparing for worst case scenarios and sometimes all I want to do is just survive it. The truth is, it's reality to expect that there will be some manure to walk through in the next few days. But what does that matter as long as I’m looking for the pony – looking to see what God is gonna do – and not just finding the nearest exit to the barn.

Parting thought: The deeper the manure, the more ponies I’ll find, maybe?  Bring on Passion 2012!