Rebel

I read a blurb today in some random article in the news about what your choice in car color might say about your personality. Of course the "experts" in this MUST know what they're talking about, right? If you read it in the news it MUST be the gospel truth, riiiight?

Well, it they broke it down like this:

Black--you are aggressive and a rebel.
Silver--you are cool, calm and may be a loner
Green--you are reactive
Yellow--you are idealistic
Blue--you are introspective, reflective and cautious
Red--you are full of energy and pizazz
White--you are a status seeker & gregarious
Cream--you are contained and controlled

I had to chuckle at this...because I have a black car and never until that moment had I ever thought of myself as an aggressive rebel. Most people who know me would not reach for the words "aggressive" or "rebel" if they were asked to describe me. Oh, no. I look reeeeeeeal nice.

On the outside.


And then there's the dark side. That girl who chose the black car side. I didn't only just pick it off the lot, oh no! I especially REQUESTED it. They special ordered it from another lot--just for me. Miss Rebel in the black car. It's like I just went outta my way for trouble! I mean, who in their right mind would ASK for a BLACK car that shows every speck of dust?! I get questioned all the time, "Is that hard to keep clean?" And ya know what I tell 'em? "I run it through the car wash once a month and don't worry about the rest." I try not to get, as my friend Theresa puts it, "all nutted up" over the clean-thing. I have to lower some standards just for sanity's sake. Because I tell you what, despite the fact that it's almost perpetually imperfect, when a black car is clean, it is something to behold! "Formal Black" is the official color of my paint and I think that fits it perfectly because in my opinion, black takes any car and just dresses it up a notch. It makes the ordinary look special. And I love it. I love how impractical it is! Hey, I guess I AM a bit of a rebel then!

There is something so sublime about the unnecessary, the just because. There are things on this earth that happen and we wonder why??? And something echos back, "Why not?" I think sometimes some of us feel guilty for taking pleasure in things. Guilty pleasures. Why is that?

Are we so accustomed to the idea that we must be uncomfortable to be behaving ourselves that we cannot even imagine ourselves indulging in the "black cars" of life? I hear this phrase all the time about how even God wants to "get us out of our comfort zone". I've even used that phrase! And it drives me nuts! Because wouldn't you think that a perfect, loving God, might actually WANT us to be comfortable? That He might actually WANT us to be happy? Happy Christians might actually be attractive people, dont'cha think?! Someone might take a look at them and think, "What is it they have that I want?" And I'm not talking about your stuff here, either.

Shifting from 'things' to heart matters....if you are in a rut of unhappiness, could it be that you've never allowed yourself to be happy? Did you realize that you can actually CHOOSE your attitude? Colossians 3:1-3 (NIV) says, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."

Take a minute today to look around you at the good things in life. Count your blessings, literally. Revel for just a moment in WHY those things or those people or relationships are so special to you. Actually ADMIT to your deepest heart why you are grateful for them. And remember WHO you are grateful TO. SET YOUR MIND on the things above. Every good and perfect gift is from above. To quote Veggie Tales, "A happy heart is a grateful heart."

I'd love to hear back from you. What you are thankful for today. What you thought about that funny list of car colors & personalities--and if any of it applies to you!

I'm off now to go do something rebellious and aggressive....maybe I'll leave a black sock in with the whites load....watch out!!!!