HE CAN DISH IT OUT, BUT HE CAN’T TAKE IT!

he can dish it out but can't take it

image courtesy of photobucket.com

“How about Legoland?” my wife asked. “Yeah, maybe?” our youngest replied with uncertainty. “Legoland’s pretty fun,” I added. My wife glanced my way with an accusing eye. “What?” I asked caught off guard. “We know why you like Legoland dad,” our daughter jumped on the accusation bandwagon with a grin.

“Oh yeah,” I remembered. It had been quite a few years since I’d been there to recall that specific event. “Why’d you do that dad?” my daughter pressed me, still smiling. “Yeah, why did you do that?” my wife chimed in. I couldn’t help but smile remembering, “I don’t know?” – “I don’t know what’s wrong with me?” I confessed.

“That poor guy,” my wife half-heartedly lamented. “Did he do anything?” my daughter asked. “No, he just looked irritated,” I answered solemnly and added, “Why would anyone ever go on a ride like that?” My wife eyed me again, “You’d never go on that ride?”

“No way!” – “Not even a remote chance!” I answered and explained, “Why would anyone put themselves in a position like that to be a target?” – “Once he got on that ride he was fair game!” I argued my case. “You have issues,” my wife said, only half-joking. “You think I don’t know that?” I answered with a laugh.

The kiddie ride was two or three person standing cages that swung the passengers gently in circles around a big pole over a big man-made pool. I think they called the ride, “The Water Cannon.” On the concrete banks, a few feet behind the fence that was used as the pool barrier is where they mounted the easily maneuverable water cannons. I never went on the ride, but I sure had fun with the water cannons. Who says kiddie parks are for kids?

The big fun of the Water Cannon Ride was to circle around the pool while the spectators – armed with water cannons – would shoot balls of water that dispersed much like a shotgun blast at the riding passengers. Like most things in life, after a learning curve, a person can get fairly proficient with the water cannons. Unfortunately for the guy I decided was to be my consistent target. With every pass, I’d soak him with water, over and over…

I was like a little kid all over again… “he can dish it out, but he can’t take it.” I didn’t want to put myself in a position I might not be mature enough to handle. How often in life do we try to protect our pride, ego, and insecurity, at the cost of our true calling and the character God’s calling us to?

How can a person be truly fulfilled in life if they’re too on guard to let their’s down and get to experience something bigger that God has planned for us? I think the next time we get to go to Legoland I’ll ride the Water Cannon Ride… It might be a small step, but for someone as immature as me…

It’s a good first step…