For quite awhile now, I’ve thought about having a guest blogger for “Cassie Contemplates…” This week, I would like to finally make this a reality. My friend, Katie Bothum, has played an integral part in my music career and now in my quest to find workable alternatives for some of my food allergies. Katie and I spent most of a week together recently— cooking, baking, writing silly songs, and just generally having a great time. During the week, she posted a blog that caught my attention, and I’d like to share it with you.
Katie’s blog, “Sunflower’s Quest,” (http://sunflowersquest.blogspot.com) is a set of entries focusing on finding hope in the midst of life’s struggles and disappointments. I am eager to share her words with you this week, and with her permission, I am reposting the below entry for your reading pleasure.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Hope and the Mighty Onion…
Hello! I would like to take the time to wish those of you following my blog a late Happy Easter! I hope you enjoyed your time with the family or even just devouring those marshmallow peeps and chocolate bunnies!
Anyway, I wanted to share something with you today concerning my never-ending quest to find hope. Anyone remember the movie SHREK? The first one. There’s a scene in the movie where Shrek explains to donkey about how there are more to ogres than many people realize. He used onions as an example and here it is for further clarification. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZnztwiWZo4
Too many times I’ve seen hope diminish in my life by being written off as something I’m not. Shrek had the same problem. All he wanted was to live in his swamp and do his thing. Tired of being harassed and hunted like he was some kind of evil monster just because that’s the way it always had been. As a pastor’s kid I’ve been written off as someone who should have been the “perfect Christian.” I was also supposed to be popular, outgoing, constantly bubbly and making people laugh. I was to be a female image of my father. Sadly, I was not and people began to cause trouble by thinking there was something severely wrong with me instead of accepting me as I was. It was very hard for me to open up and trust anyone, even God. Granted, there were a few that saw I had “layers” and could not take me at face value. I am very thankful for those friendships; they were the ones who made it easier to trust again, especially after some of the things I’ve been through.
None of us are perfect and sometimes we just need someone to just accept that above anything else. A simple act of kindness like listening or even standing up for someone can really go a long way. Is it always easy and could you lose a lot in return, probably but the end result of hope in that person’s life is long worth it! It also blesses you in the process…doing the right thing!
Now, I know not everyone likes onions and that’s fine. Not everyone will like you and want to be your friend. Some people just don’t get along no matter what is said and done. But realize the many uses for the onion, it can be sweetened for soups, can add flavor to any pot roast, and is pretty darn tasty when battered and deep-fried hahaha! Even if you’re an onion, there are uses for you…yes, there may be tears involved but the end result is good….delicious even! Snack on that and try to help out the “onions” in your life, Donkey and Shrek became friends and saved the day in the movie, maybe that could be the case for you. Or not, but either way it’s worth putting a little bit of hope back into this “label-maker” world.
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