If you live long enough, you’ll probably fall prey to some kind of bait-and-switch scheme. Someone promises you one thing, but then delivers something different and of lesser value.
I sure didn’t have to live very long to experience this kind of exasperating switcheroo. It occurred when I was just nine or 10 years old and the perp was the Girl Scouts, or more specifically, the leader of my particular Girl Scout troop.
I’m reminded of my somewhat dismal Scouting career every time I walk in my closet and see a clothes hanger wrapped with orange and brown yarn that I made in Brownie Scouts and gave to my mother. (After all, nothing says “I love you” like a yarn-wrapped clothes hanger.) I brought the hanger home with me recently after helping my mom go through all her stuff to prepare for a move.
My stint in Brownies was unmomentous, as I recall. Mostly, I remember discovering how woefully bad I am at doing craft projects. When I graduated, or “flew up,” as they called it, to the next level—Junior Girl Scouts—I thought I’d finally get to do all the fun outdoorsy stuff one usually associates with Scouting. But I didn’t.
I don’t mean to cast aspersions upon Girl Scouts as a whole, but my troop leader seemed to hate being outdoors unless, I suspect, it was to dash from her car into a salon to have her very big hair done. This lady ran our troop like it was a beauty school or home economics class and it was pure-T torture for a tomboy like me.
To top it off, when it came time to peddle those famous Girl Scout cookies door to door—the only time our troop leader ever encouraged us to go outside—the prize I won for selling the most cookies in our troop was a weird little fake, stuffed bird. What in the world kind of prize is that for a kid?
The only redeeming thing about my Girl Scout experience was that two of my friends and I found a way, on our own and without our troop leader, to go to Girl Scout summer camp. And there, at long last, we were able to hike in muddy creeks, paddle canoes, make campfires, and sleep in a tent. The communal showers, spiders, and outdoor latrines were a bit unpleasant, but we still had loads of fun.
After camp, I just couldn’t face another year in my troop with Mrs. Prissypants running the show, so I hung up my green sash and said adios to Girl Scouts. I hadn’t earned many merit badges, but I had learned to be much more careful about what I signed up for in the future.
Disillusioning experiences like that can cause us to become so cynical we end up missing wonderful, important, and even life-changing opportunities. When I first discovered what it means to truly follow Christ, I was definitely wary and afraid it might turn out to be another disappointment. I agonized over making that decision, but in the end, I just couldn’t resist the grace and truth of God.
Forty-three years later, I can say with absolute certainty it most definitely wasn’t a bait-and-switch con. It’s not that life has been a continual bed of roses, but when trials have come, as they inevitable do for us all, God has faithfully given me what I’ve needed to get through them.
It turns out some things actually are as good, or even better, than advertised. Jesus is one of those. And He doesn’t even make us sell cookies.
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” – Hebrews 10:23