Put Your DuckBack On

I was reading my friend's recent post about Christian community, and his 1st point (of 4) , is "You are going to be hurt". Of course, he's absolutely right. I don't think I've ever had a relationship (that was more than just an acquaintance) where I didn't get hurt. And I know that I have personally hurt most people I know at one time or another.




I just want to stop for a minute and say that this post is not a "I have the answer!" post, but instead more of a "This is I how I deal with it!" post.






In college, at one point I had 5 roommates. That's right, 6 single, barely post-teen boys living in one house. Did we hurt each other? Absolutely. We had a phrase we used to say to each other whenever one of us would get on the other's nerves.

Put on your duckback.

What does that mean exactly? It means just what it sounds like. Let whatever it is that the person said or did run off of your back like "water off of a duck's back". Wow! We were pretty clever, huh?

But seriously. the Chuck Swindoll's quasi-famous quote about life being 10% what happens to us, and 90% about our attitude is really true. People will hurt us, people will do things that aren't fair, (and often the circumstances of life itself) but our reaction and attitude toward them is ultimately what determines what effect it has on us. I think the phrase "I take offense to that!" is actual much more correct than "You offended me!" Many times our offenses are something we own and keep near and dear to our hearts.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words really hurt me.

Do I walk in un-offendable perfection? No. Do I still catch myself being offended at times. Honestly, not very often, but occasionally. But when I do, I just say to myself, "Okay, put on your duckback."

So, the next time someone you know (or don't know) does something to offend you, just give me call and say, "Aaron, hand me the duckback!"