My friend, Alice, remembers her husband taking their girls to a fall festival with they were 5 and 3 years old. There had been a bouncy house, face painting, pumpkins, etc. But when she asked 3-year-old Elaine how she liked it, Elaine said, “There was a scary, SCARY witch there.”
Alice said, “Oh, honey… How did that bad witch scare you?”
Elaine answered darkly, “She BOSSED me.”
That story cracks me up. Partly because it shows that even a three-year-old can see how dark and ugly a bossy, controlling woman is. It wasn’t the witch’s scary costume that most impressed Elaine; it was her bossiness!
If you have a scary, scary woman in your life, you know how dark those ‘bossing scenes’ can get. Shudder. It’s downright spooky how a completely beautiful woman can turn to ugly, green, and covered-with-hairy-warts when she starts bossing everyone.
In real life, she’s your mother-in-law, your mom, your sister, or your friend. But the scary, scary person is the one under the costume, ready to jump out and scare you with her bossing.
There’s not a lot we can do about the scary, scary controlling women in our lives. If you boss a witch off her broom, guess who’s suddenly the ugliest, scariest one in the room?
The only scary, scary controlling woman I can truly take care of is me. And I can start by not bossing everyone. Even when they’re doing it wrong. Even when I reminded them. Even when they aren’t being efficient or sanitary or orderly.
Do I want my loved ones telling spooky stories of how I constantly BOSS them? Do I want the sweet smile on my face to just be a costume? No, I want my true colors to be something other than green! Here’s what I want for my life:
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”
(Romans 12:9-10)
And how do you throw water on a scary, scary witch who’s bossing everyone? How do you melt her away?
Do not become overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
(Romans 12:21)
Oh, thank you for this, Shannon. Thank you for this!!
Thank YOU for sharing your little story with me. May our true colors never be green. 🙂