This is what I think about….

I like words. Especially when they’re combined in short sentences, expressing or summarizing far more wisdom than would seem possible. Even when said sentences are somewhat cliche. I like proverbs, and sayings, and adages.

But some of them are downright wrong. (Ok, ok – or at least partly wrong.)

One that I’ve thought about extensively this year? “Hindsight is 20/20.” I mean really – think about it. No, really. Does that even make sense? Is it absolute? When people say, “Hindsight is 20/20,” they mean that we always know what we would have done looking back. We see the past perfectly. BUT – think about it – that doesn’t mean that the decision that we wish we had made would have been right. All it means is that we would have done things differently. Sometimes that’s good. Sometimes, though, we did what we needed to do, but we had no idea how hard it would be or what would happen, and if we had known what was coming when we made that decision we would have made an easier one – but that doesn’t mean that the harder decision was wrong or that the easier decision would have been right. Which means that this saying doesn’t work.

(SIDE NOTE: I sure am glad that God doesn’t usually show us the process, but the goal. There are SO many things I wouldn’t do if I knew how hard they were going to be. He knows that.)

“Love hurts.” This is partially true. If you open your heart up, you also open yourself up to the possibility of being hurt. In my experience, however – and I believe this is the way it’s supposed to be – love HEALS. Love that hurts, it seems to me, is not being love. Times of pain may come when you love, but the love itself should help heal you through those times – be it God’s love, married love, brotherly love, the love of friends…. you get the picture. If love hurts all the time it is either dysfunctional or it is not love. “⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  ⁸ Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a) Do those things sound easy? No. But they sound like they bring healing – not hurt. (I think I could preach a sermon on this subject. Moving on….)

“Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” I understand that this has the possibility of being valid SOMETIMES…. but I’m thinking that abuse, coma-inducing accidents, war, and a myriad of other terrible things that happen to people all over the world every day have absolutely no guarantee of making them stronger either physically, spiritually, emotionally, or mentally. I would say that the POTENTIAL to become stronger lies greatly in your responses to things – but there is by no means any guarantee, and most people in fact are damaged by these things and become weaker. Which, I believe, is partly why we celebrate the people who have risen up to conquer their circumstances – they are the ones who make this adage appear true. And they challenge the rest of us to do what we do not naturally do.

Moving on…. some things are very true. One of my personal favorites: “Murphy’s Law,” which states, “If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong.” Or,” If there are two or more ways of doing something, and one of those ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it.” Murphy has also evolved into this sort of… ok, well, here’s a confession. In my mind, Murphy is a dog. To be more precise – Murphy looks exactly like Officer Murphy from Richard Scary’s stories. I read those as a child and I’ve never been able to separate the two. Do I actually believe Murphy exists? No. But it is odd how often he likes to mess with me. He’s the one who makes the bus come JUST as you’ve decided to sit down. He’s the one the makes sure that the plane starts boarding as soon as you decide you’re going to go buy a snack. And yes, he’s the one that makes sure that your toast always lands peanut butter side down. (He’s a very big part of my life, actually. Murphy loves me.)

Another favorite, which I say often: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Oh so true.

Here are a few more interesting adages – some old, some new, some even from friends and family -  which I will leave you to evaluate for yourself:

- “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words may never hurt me.”

- “A penny saved is a penny earned.”

- “A stitch in time saves nine.”

- “Haste makes waste.”

- “Absence makes the heart go fonder.”

- “Out of sight, out of mind.”

- “All’s well that ends well.”

- “It’s the little things (that make all the difference).”

- “Silence is the perfectest herald of joy.” (Thank you, Shakespeare.)

- “The measure of success if obedience.”

- “Don’t pull a dog by the ear.”

- “Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Poor minds discuss people.”

- “He who asks is dumb for five minutes, but he who does not ask is dumb for a lifetime.”

- “He who laughs last, didn’t get the joke.”

- “Home is where the heart is.” vs “Home is where you hang your hat.”

- “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

- “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

- “Ignorance is bliss.”

- “Kill them with kindness.” (Or, as Grandpa Hutchinson put it, “You get more with candy than you do with sour apples.”)

- “Many hands make light work.”

- “Misery loves company.”

- “Necessity is the mother of invention.” (And MacGyver is the father…)

Okay, I’ll stop now. Like I said – I love words. If you want to see a list of 545 adages, go here.

One for the road – another favorite of mine: “You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.” Well, you’ll probably disagree with me, but I’ve come to believe that – usually, anyway – there’s a simple way around this problem. My solution? MORE CAKE. Lots and lots of cake.