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The Pixel Punk Diaries |
Bathroom Drama
It's embarrassing when someone walks in on you when you are on the toilet. You could be at a friend's house—or even worse—at a restaurant or something. Whereever you are, this is usually how it goes...
You'll be sitting there enjoying that heavenly peace that comes over you when you do your business. You'll hear the commotion of people outside, and you are paralyzed with fear. The panic rushes through your veins: "Did I lock the door?"
Someone will twist the doorknob, and you'll yelp out something desperate like "No! No! No! No!" or "Somebody's in here." Either way, you feel stupid because your silly response is really a confession that says, "Yes, I am stupid and ugly and gross. I couldn't spend a half second to lock the door because I needed to take a dump so bad!" The awkwardness doesn't fade. Even ten minutes later, you are terrified to even leave the room for fear of facing the world. Those first few steps out of the bathroom are as scary as anything else in life.
I cannot be a hero in big decisions unless I am a hero in small decisions. Other times you'll be smooth, and yell something cool:
"This one's taken!"
"There's not room for two of us!"
"Whoa there poopy pants!"
If you say any of those three, your quick wit and confidence tells the other person that they are impatient and desperate. They have the problem, not you. When your done with the delivery, you can strut out of the stinky room and still feel cool. You conquer awkward situations, and you do it with finesse.
Why do I bring up this bathroom drama? Well, you never know how you will react in a random situation. We like to believe that when put in difficult situations, we’ll do the right thing. Here’s one that I can’t forget.
While I was in college, I went on a Life Teen mission trip to Mexico. It had been a life-changing week, and I was excited to be back home to tell my friends about the journey. I was eating lunch with some friends at my sister's apartment, telling stories about our adventures south of the border. Her boyfriend perked up when he heard his truck start outside, then squeal away. He blurted out, “Somebody’s stealing my truck!”
We exchanged a quick glance and then jumped up from the table and ran out the door. My friend chased after the truck and I ran the opposite direction through the parking lot. I sprinted barefoot on the hot summer asphalt hoping to beat them to the gate. It was a long way to run and my feet were hurting. I made a quick turn and cut through the bushes to the gate. The truck stood ten feet in front of me, engine revving, leaning in against the gate as it slowly swung open. I had enough time to do something, but I didn't do anything. I stood at a safe distance and watched them drive away.
That night has replayed in my head a thousand times. I've watched dozens of movies that had the same scene, but the guy smashed out the window and grabbed the robber out of the seat. Or he’d hop in his own car and chase him down. I had a chance to do something heroic, but I failed. I cannot forget that.
So I’ve decided to make up for being such a coward. I cannot be a hero in big decisions unless I am a hero in small decisions. I figure that each day, there are over fifty times when we face the same choice: Do I follow the world, or do I follow Jesus? I don’t have to worry about all fifty at the same time, just the one in front of me. In giving up my vanity and focusing on Jesus, I will be prepared to be a hero when the big challenge comes again. I just hope that the next challenge doesn’t involve a bathroom or a stolen truck.
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Matt Smith is the Director of Internet Ministries for Life Teen, an international Catholic youth ministry based in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the creative force behind Life Teen's cluster of websites that receive nearly 2 million visits a year. Since staring on MTV's "Real World" and MTV's "Road Rules Challenge", Matt has traveled the country speaking at colleges, universities, schools, and Catholic parishes.
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