Starting Right
Starting Right is a 5 minute Day Starter to help keep you motivated, encouraged, and focused throughout your day. DannyMac is a pastor, teacher, motivational speaker, husband, and father. His years of leading and training people have given him vast experience in helping individuals to accomplish change in their lives and meet their goals. He can help you set the course for your day by offering practical advice from God's Word in a positive and fun way. There is no better way to begin your day than by Starting Right with DannyMac.
Starting Right
Sucked In, Washed Up, Blown Over
Ever had one of those moments when life knocks you completely off balance? Today's episode tells the story of Sparky the parakeet, who suffered the unfortunate fate of being vacuumed up, washed under a faucet, and blow-dried—all in quick succession. Poor Sparky survived but "doesn't sing much anymore" and "just sort of sits there staring at the wall."
Like Sparky, many of us have experienced times when we feel "sucked in, washed up, and blown over" by circumstances beyond our control. These moments can steal our song and leave us feeling lost. What's powerful is that right now, someone around you is likely feeling exactly this way—perhaps hiding behind a brave face while deeply struggling inside. The greatest gift you can offer them is compassion.
Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mac. I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day. So grab your cup of coffee, sit back, relax and let me help you start your day right. I want to tell you a story this morning about a parakeet named Sparky. Poor guy, he never saw it coming One second. He was peacefully perched in his cage and the next he was sucked in, washed up and blown over. You see, the problem began when Sparky's owner decided to clean Sparky's cage with a vacuum cleaner. She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and she stuck the hose into the cage. The phone rang. She turned to pick it up and she barely had said hello when old Sparky got sucked right on in. The bird owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum and opened the bag, and there was Sparky, still alive, but a little bit stunned. The bird was filthy, now covered with dust and soot. So she grabbed him, she raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet and she held Sparky under the running water and then, realizing that Sparky was soaked and shivering, she did, I guess, what any compassionate bird owner would do. She did, I guess, what any compassionate bird owner would do. She reached for the hairdryer and blasted the pet with hot air. Poor old Sparky, he never knew what hit him.
Speaker 1:A few days after what we'll call the incident, the reporter, who had initially written about the event, contacted Sparky's owner and asked how the bird was doing. Well, she replied. Sparky doesn't sing much anymore. He just sort of sits there staring at the wall. Poor old Sparky, sucked in, washed up and blown over, that's enough to steal the song from anybody's heart. Now we may laugh at poor Sparky, but I'm willing to guess that the majority of us have had times in our lives when we have had something happen and we just did not know what hit us. It just bam, something out of nowhere came along and disrupted our lives and we felt sucked in, washed up and blown over. And there were times when we just lost our song.
Speaker 1:And if you weren't feeling that way, well, you should probably be really thankful to God right now that you aren't. But I can guarantee you that there are people right now who are around you who are feeling that way, who feel that they've just been run over. They may be putting on a good face. They may be trying and struggling to keep a good attitude, but deep down inside they are truly, truly hurting. And do you know what? One of the greatest gifts you can give to them right now? It is the gift of compassion, of being able to reach out and encourage them and love them right where they are.
Speaker 1:You don't need to be a professional counselor, you don't need to have all of the answers. You just need to come alongside those who are around you who are struggling and show that you care and show God's love to them. Colossians, chapter 3, verse 12, says God chose you to be the holy people he loves. So you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentlenessleness and patience. One of the other translations says be filled with compassion for one another. There are people that just need to know that you care, that you are standing with them, that you are there to listen to their hurts and their heartaches, to listen to their disappointments, to listen to their fears. Just to listen to their fears. Just listen, listen and encourage them to talk and to get it out and be that true friend to people who need one right now. Let them know that you care, let them know that the love of God is within you and reach out and be compassionate to the people around you. I guarantee you there's people around you that feel like poor old Sparky, and if you feel like you've been run over too, try letting down that guard that you've kept up and reach out openly and honestly to your friends and let their compassion help you as well.
Speaker 1:Let me leave you with these three thoughts about compassion. First of all, being compassionate means that we see people through God's eyes, that all people are valuable and important. Secondly, that we should be kind to everyone we meet, because everybody is going through a battle somewhere in their lives. So we need to be careful not to judge people by their current actions, because we don't know what they're going through, we don't know what their day has been, we don't know what's happening in their family or what their problems are or what they're struggling with. Everybody goes through stuff and that's never any fun.
Speaker 1:And thirdly, compassion and kindness are always expressed by doing something. Both the big and the small things are important to people who are going through struggles, who need to know that they are still worth something and that there still is hope for them in their situation. And so today, if you're feeling like Sparky, don't be afraid to let down your guard and to reach out to those friends around you. You may be surprised at how much comfort and support and encouragement that they are willing and able to give to you. And if you know a friend who's going through it right now, really struggling, you be the one to reach out to them first and show compassion and love to them and be a blessing in their lives. Have a great day, my friends. We'll talk again tomorrow. Thank you for listening today and I invite you to join me Monday to Friday, right here on Starting Right with Danny Mac.
