We were first served coconuts in
Cambodia – top cut off, straw stuck in – told to drink the water out and then
they’d be opened up for us to eat the flesh.
I didn’t like it the first time, but my taste buds have been evolving
over the last couple months, and now, as long as my stomach’s not too full, I
love coconuts. Here’s a funny story
about coconuts:
So the other day when we
were visiting a pastor, he told us they had a special treat…coconuts. [Two days before we had this same
“special treat” – served Philippines style without a straw (yeah,
that’s right, you have to hold the coconut up to your mouth and drink out of it
like a can of pop or a water bottle or something)].
Instead of drinking these
coconuts normally, Heather, Caitlin, and I thought it would be a fun idea to
race and see who could drink their coconut the fastest. Being highly competitive, I never turn down a
challenge like that. So we received our
coconuts, made sure they were all about the same size, counted to three, and
started drinking.
Needless to say, I
haven’t quite mastered the art of chugging coconut water/milk/juice/whatever-you-call-it yet…in fact, I’m
quite slow at drinking it. Heather
finished first (Caitlin and I still had about half to go)…and still being competitive and still wanting a chance to win something, I challenged our ICM
friend, Arnold, to a race – him with a whole coconut and me with a half (he’s
from the Philippines, really…it wasn’t unfair at all). We raced.
I tried to chug, but apparently still can’t. And he kicked my butt. He drank his whole coconut in the time it
took me to drink maybe a quarter of mine.
This stinks. I want to win at something. I really don’t like losing…and now I lost
twice in a row.
Maybe that’s supposed to
teach me something. Maybe I’m being
humbled. Maybe I’m just a little bit too competitive. Maybe competition can be
fun (I mean, who isn’t going to laugh when you’re holding a huge coconut up to
your face and attempting to chug it – that was probably half my problem). Maybe I don’t have to win at everything.
Maybe God can use funny
things like coconuts to teach us lessons.
Who knew?
