Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Gotta Love Those Embarrassing Moments

Embarrassing moments. We all have them….some of us more frequently than others, but hey!..they come with life. Me? I definitely fall into the “some of us” category because no doubt I am the poster child for unintentionally looking like a doof. I’ve always been this way, but I have become more aware of it ever since I started my job. I think it’s because I’m more aware of how I need to appear in a professional environment that I’m getting paid to be apart of. None-the-less, I’ve had WAY too many moments where I’ve thought, “I can’t believe I just did that” than a person should be allowed to have. So I pray for grace from my boss and co-workers. Ha! Thank the Lord; I’ve received it… so far. It’s those moments that you don’t plan on happening, yet somehow they show up and your palm hits your forehead for the umpteenth time. Like for instance:

• Embarrassing Moment #1: A week after I started work I leaned over my computer monitor to look for an usb jack and got my earring stuck in the monitor. So there I am sitting on my desk with my ear stuck to my computer monitor. All I could think about was how ridiculous I must’ve looked and it didn’t even occur to me that all I had to do was take my earring off instead of trying to wiggle it loose, still attached to my ear.

• Embarrassing Moment #34: I walked out of the restroom with my skirt tucked in my undershorts. (Thankfully I felt the breeze before anyone else saw! I probably would have literally quit and my reason for leaving would have been: utter embarrassment.)

• Embarrassing Moment # 82: While talking to my boss, I nervously tried to balance the big box that I was carrying in the palm of my hand. (It was one of those moments where your hands are doing stuff that your mind has no clue about.) Of course I lost its balance on my palm and right before it took a tumble in the hallway the VP caught it. (Suddenly, I feel the red rising in my neck again.)

• Embarrassing Moment # 109: Oddly, I ran from a quacking goose in the middle of the parking lot.

• Embarrassing Moment # 178: While dropping off boxes, I somehow forgot to put my car in park. Excitedly I just took my foot off the brake and hopped out of the car. Thankfully I caught it before it hit anything. Wow. That one could have been dangerous. Eeesh.

• Embarrassing Moment #234: While walking with my boss I “push” on a “pull” door.

• Embarrassing Moment # 311: After casually mentioning that I had a headache in the left part of my forehead to my co-worker, I proceeded to bend down to pick up something and HIT the left part of my forehead on the corner of a shelf. You can’t deny that was uncomfortable in more ways than one.

I could go on and on with all the odd things that I do on a regular basis. I sometimes stop and think at how much of a “mess” I would let myself be if I’d let those awkward moments “get” to me. Instead, you can bet that in each and every one of those moments I “let it go” and just laughed at myself (and invite others to laugh with me)….because life happens and embarrassing moments are not exempt from life. Believe it or not those are the moments to live in, because they create the opportunities for laughter in your day and memories to transform into stories. I also believe that it builds character, adds to your sense of humor, and definitely humbles you.

By faith, I believe that the “Proverbs 31”woman was no stranger to embarrassing moments, either. I bet she owned them too, saying, “Oh yeah that’s right. I sure did just do that.” Ha! Yep…The Bible tells us in Proverbs 31:25 that “she is clothed in strength and dignity; she can laugh about the days to come.” When I heard this verse repeated at Beth Moore’s “So Long, Insecurity” conference it got me to thinking. In this situation, I believe that before we let ourselves get overwhelmed with embarrassment and feel the urge to be insecure about the silly things that we do (that probably nobody pays attention to anyway)… we can pause and take a moment to clothe ourselves with the strength to laugh in the moment and the dignity to let it roll right off our shoulders, while embracing the fact that “it happens.”

I just know that God has a great sense of humor and takes delight in the goofy moments that His children create, just as any parent would. My mom has said, “Oh that’s just Miranda” more times than I can count, and my dad use to make the “whooshing” sound as he swiped his hand over his head as in to signal the “it went right over your head” sign.. So sometimes I can just picture Jesus, after one of my embarrassing moments, looking down and “whooshing” His holy hand over the top of His holy head and saying, “Yep…That’s my Miranda. Gotta love her.” And He does :)

(For a fun a visual: A few months ago, while visiting friends in Nashville, I thought it'd be funny to pretend I was a "box monster" and put my arms through the sides of this box. Yeah....well I kind of got stuck. After much laughter, the box had to be cut off because I just couldn't get out of it. And to answer your question, NO. I had not been drinking. Thank you. Ha!)

9 comments:

fuzzytop said...

Miranda - this photo of you in the box is hilarious, yet terrifying.... it looks like you have no head. Where exactly IS your sweet head in this picture????

You are charming and endearing! And hilarious! Maybe one of the things that Proverbs 31 woman is laughing at in "...the days to come" is her certainty that there will be such moments.

Love and hugs,
Adrienne

P.S. I read an article in USA Today today (too many todays there) that said the 18-29 yr old generation is decidedly luke-warm at best in their Christianity. But it went on to say that there is a small % of passionate, committed Christians in this generation who really do get it. I immediately thought of you.

Beth Herring said...

Ok Miranda - you have NO head in the box! Where on earth is your head????

I had to laugh at your misfortunes. Too funny - so sad, my friend but I am looking forward to more embarrassing moments..

Beth

Miranda Riley said...

Aww Adriene, you just made my whole night!!! I praise the Lord that I'm able to soak in who He is. I pray daily for a heart for Him. I pray for His heart for others. He is so faithful, and with the life He has allowed me to lead there is no denying His mercies. Praise Him. I love Him so much.

I love you, too! You bless me so much. I absolutely love to talk to you.
Oh and my head...ha!...it's kind of leaned forward. I know, it was a weird position... I'm so surprised I didn't hurt myself. I don't think things all the way through sometimes, I just go for it and either have a "that was cool" attitude or a "this wasn't my smartest idea" attitude. LOL

Miranda Riley said...

Oh and AdrieNNe... I promise I know how to spell your name. Don't cha just hate typos after you've posted something. Drives me crazy.

Haha!!! Beth, isn't that funny?! It does look crazy, but I'm just leaned forward. Hunched over...

So funny! Thanks!!

Kmac0124 said...

Oh, Miranda. : ) That was an awsome post. I have alot of fond memories of our time in Americus and the often include the embarassing things either you or I did. You put all of those moments in a great context with what you said. Love ya.

Miranda Riley said...

KAREN!!!!!! HA!!!!!!!

Don't EVEN get me started on that trip to the mountains involving the rope swing and the log. HA!!!!!

Gosh, I sure miss you!!!!! We'll have more moments like that when Jessi and I come up this year. We are definitely planning it! Love yoU!

Yolanda said...

I love YOU!

tosha said...

Made my morning, sweet girl! Miss you!

valerie said...

So funny!
I'm always doing goofy things and definitely have learned to laugh at myself!
I do our church bulletin and it's been a while now, but I put a Scripture verse in it one Sunday.....the one that says "....He delivered me from all my fears" except I put "rears" in the place of "fears"!!!!! Oh my! Nobody was at work that day to proof it, so everyone at church and all on the mailing list got to see that. :()
I ALMOST.....I mean I came SO VERY CLOSE to accidentally putting "food panty needs" instead of "food pantry need." Thank God I caught that one!
I could go on and on. I'm a goof, for sure!
Some of my friends call me Phoebe from "Friends."?????
Thanks for sharing. Your post brought a smile!
{{{hugs}}} from Oklahoma!