What You Cannot See

My calendar shows me that my youngest son has a haircut scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Ashley, our talented and wonderfully energetic stylist (that sounds too fancy for my hair) has cut my hair for well over a decade. She knows the top of my head better than I do. From her standpoint (literally), she can see what I cannot see. While I might be able to use two mirrors to see the crown of my noggin, it takes great effort including yoga-ish poses.

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It's great to have people in your life who see what you cannot. I like to call those people "Spinach and Zipper Friends." Those are the friends who, because they care about you, inform you of the spinach in your teeth and the open fly you forgot to close. Sometimes those friends are speaking of actual vegetable remains and unzipped zippers; but, other times, they're telling you of things a bit more or much more weighty. We need those people in our lives. The ones who say . . .

• "You should not have said that."
• "Was that kind?"
• "You drink too much."
• "You need to get some help."
• "Your wife / husband deserves better than that."
• "Don't be so tough on your kids."
• "I've missed you at church."
• "I'm glad to listen."
• "I have a different perspective on that."

If you lack at least one "Spinach and Zipper Friend" in your life, that void needs to be filled. When you gain a new friend or give permission to a current friend to challenge you, you will not only have a cleaner smile and sufficiently closed clothing, you will gain a perspective of what you cannot see.

#ordinarylives