Bucket or “Duck It”
“No matter the bumps /No matter the bruises / No matter the scars / Still the truth is the cross has made / The cross has made you flawless.”
Bucket lists have become quite popular. People write down adventures they would like to experience or achievements they hope to accomplish before they die. I was recently able to hike part way down the breathtaking Grand Canyon--something I’ve wanted to do most of my life. Definitely a check off my life wish list. But lately I’ve been thinking more about a "duck it" list—as in things I prefer to avoid.
I began contemplating such a list about a year and a half ago when my son, Samuel, told me something no mother wants to hear. No, it wasn't some major life catastrophe or huge problem. It was just ludicrous, looney talk. The kind of talk that makes you wonder if your child is a few cards shy of a full deck.
No matter how many times we try to duck, we occasionally get smacked in the face by some of the fallout of this fallen world.
.
Samuel began with a caveat, "I don't want to die from these things or be permanently injured, but I think it would be so cool to be shot, stabbed, shark bitten, and struck by lightning. As his former English teacher, I gave him bonus points for the nice alliteration. I also immediately took them away because of his use of the word "and" instead of "or”—indicating his desire to experience all of these calamities instead of being content with only one.
It's pretty insulting to be marred by a marshmallow.
Jesus makes us beautiful.
My calm response: "That's the craziest bucket list I've ever heard."
What my response should have been: "You are so grounded FOREVER, Buster!"
In his defense, Samuel is young (not yet twenty when we had this conversation) and, therefore, feels invincible. He's a tough guy and has been through some physical and mental training that would take me out in two seconds flat.
He also carries a humiliating secret. Samuel sports a couple of scars, but his most famous one was caused by (are you ready for this?) a marshmallow. Granted, it was a hot one on the end of a stick, but in the end he was still burned and branded by a puffy, gooey, normally docile campfire snack.
It's pretty insulting to be marred by a marshmallow. There are just no bragging rights there. I guess a jagged shark-bite scar or a knife wound would fit his tough guy image better and give him a little more clout. But from my obviously much wiser, maternal perspective Samuel would do well to avoid all association with such disfiguring antics. Gun shots and lightning bolts are definitely duck worthy.
I've lived long enough to know that we can't choose our wounds and scars (except for the foolishly self-inflicted ones).
I've lived long enough to know that we can't choose our wounds and scars (except for the foolishly self-inflicted ones). And we all tend to have a few more of both than I prefer. No matter how many times we try to duck, we occasionally get smacked in the face by some of the fallout of this fallen world. But thanks be to Jesus Who cleanses us so that we are "without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that [we] might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27 ESV). He makes us beautiful.
As MercyMe's song says, "No matter the bumps/No matter the bruises/ No matter the scars/ Still the truth is the cross has made/ The cross has made you flawless."
Flawless is something I definitely want on my bucket list.
