Dr. James L. Snyder
Since I was a young person, I always had some pets around. Most of these have been dogs, hunting dogs in particular. And I loved my pets.
In getting older, I discovered that having a pet dog around is a lot of work. More work than I care to do in light of my busy schedule. So I have exchanged these pet dogs for a few pet peeves.
One pet peeve of mine is when a waitress calls me “Sweetie.” I do not know, it just gets under my skin. Of course, it might be good for somebody to think of something sweet about me. I prefer, rather, it is somebody who knows something about me. What bothers me is the people who know me really do not call me “Sweetie.” There may be something to that.
Another pet peeve is when somebody is eating broccoli next to me in a restaurant. Eating broccoli in public is probably not against the law, but it should be.
And many pet peeves to go along with that.
Recently a situation developed that caused me quite a bit of a quandary. The gist of that quandary had to do with money, which is another pet peeve of mine.
When I was in high school, I had smashed my right big toe. At the time, the doctor had to remove the toenail and it took six months for my toenail to grow back. Well, it did not quite get back into shape. I have had trouble with that toe ever since.
Lately that toenail was giving me some difficulty. It was not growing in the right direction and it looked like it was rotting. I knew if I went to the doctor, it would cost me an arm and a leg. What good is a toe when you lost an arm and a leg? When checking it out it would have cost about $200 to see a doctor about this. Without insurance, all of this would have come out of my pocket.
I put it off for a year and it seemed just to get worse. It got so bad that it hurt every time I walked. I did complain to the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, but she only insisted that I go see a doctor. It is easy for her to say when it is not her $200.
Being a certified Pennsylvania Dutchman, $200 is a lot of money. Trying to get $200 out of a Pennsylvania Dutchman is about as close to suicide as anybody wants to get. I tried to think of how I could deal with my toe without going to that money hungry doctor.
Several weeks ago, I happened to overhear somebody say that they had a badly infected toenail. It caught my attention because it was the condition of my toe at the time. Instead of going to the doctor, this woman went and had a pedicure, which took care of her damaged toe.
I really did not know what a pedicure was; just that it was some kind of a woman thing. As a man, I had no interest in involving myself in anything that could be classified as a woman thing. However, my toe would not quit hurting.
I pondered this subject for a couple of weeks. During that time, my toe got worse and it was more painful to walk. Of course, my wife kept asking how my toe was and I deferred telling her the truth. There was no way I was going to go to a doctor and hand over to him $200 of my hard-earned money.
I thought to myself, “Self, maybe you should try the pedicure.”
Myself thought it was a good idea and so I drove over to where they did pedicures. I sat in my truck for a few minutes looking at the Nail Salon where they did pedicures. While I was watching, my toe kept hurting.
Finally, I decided to leave my manhood in the truck, hobble in and see if they could do a pedicure for someone like me. I was sure they had never dealt with anybody quite my size before. I was not even sure that they would take a man as a client.
When I walked in, I discovered that they did not speak English. At least most of them did not. I inquired and was warmly received, then ushered to a chair where they could work on my toes. Within 20 minutes, I received a pedicure to beat all pedicures. The young woman who did my toes did a marvelous job. I was afraid that she would try to paint my toenails and I was prepared for a vigorous No. But she did not and was very gracious in taking care of my wounded toe.
When I went to pay for the pedicure, I was surprised it was only $20.
I walked painlessly to my truck and sitting in my truck was my manhood with $180. That is what I call a good day.
I could not help think of a verse in Proverbs, “Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud” (Proverbs 16:19).
Sometimes a proud spirit gets in the way of healthy living. When I think too much of myself I have too much of myself to think of.
Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, PO Box 831313, Ocala, FL 34483. He lives with his wife, Martha, in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 1-866-552-2543 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. His web site is www.jamessnyderministries.com.
