A Wonderful Mistake

I've sometimes been afraid to step out and make a move in any direction for fear that I'd be doing the wrong thing. I know the saying that God can only direct a moving car and not a parked one, yet I've still chosen to remain firmly parked, jotting down possible pros and cons, trying to figure things out. What usually happens is that my head just spins and I'm even more frustrated and confused, having known all along that the pros and cons for both sides are what makes a decision difficult in the first place. I've felt envious of friends and acquaintances who state, "After prayer I just knew deep in my bones that the right thing to do would be...." So with big or medium sized decisions, and sometimes even small ones, I've been a procrastinator.

Not long ago, I found a statement in a book I was reading that we shouldn't be afraid to step out because God can even use our mistakes! It was a nice thought and I wanted to think it's true. Some of mine have been so big. Well, over the weekend I read a true story that confirms it absolutely.

It was about Mr Alfred Nobel, the Swedish instigator of the Nobel Peace Prize. He'd become a multi-millionaire from his work producing dynamite. Over breakfast one day, he opened the morning paper and was shocked to see his own obituary in the classifieds. For whatever reason, the editor of the paper had mistakenly thought he'd died. When Nobel got over his initial shock, he was upset to find that his obituary was not very flattering. In spite of his success, he'd been labelled as a rude and selfish man who had no time for others. That became the catalyst for him to change his life around before it became too late. Establishing the Nobel Peace Prize, thereby giving huge chunks of his wealth away in aid of great humanitarian causes changed his personal legacy completely. When we think of the name Nobel, what do we immediately think of? How ironic to learn that the man whose name is most associated with worldwide peace earned his fortune in something as un-peaceful as dynamite!

I can imagine when the newspaper editor discovered his mistake, he would've wanted to sink into a hole in the ground and never come out again. As far as mistakes go, that was a pretty big one. But look at the good that came out of it. Perhaps it's a good thing to just make the best prayerful, informed decisions we can and then step out without looking back, trusting them to come alright.

Paula Vince is an award-winning Australian author of Christian contemporary fiction. She loves to set her novels around her own familiar and beautiful environment. Her most recent novel, 'Imogen's Chance', was published in April 2014.

WISDOM

If it’s true you gain wisdom through mistakes, well then, I must be a sage. In fact, I think I’ve earned the golden chalice for acumen in this past week alone. The reality is, I’d go back and relive the last several days if I could, where yearning exists for a do over.

I said and did a few things that left me eating crow. Most often I’m a disciplined person, but if somebody is incessant enough and pushes long and hard enough on the right buttons I have the potential to explode like that unpleasant loose cannon where anything goes. This is not something I’m proud of, and, writing with an open and honest heart, happens rarely. However, if/when it does it is dreadful.

After tossing and turning at night over a particular incident that caused an unsolicited chain reaction, I called two go-to people hoping to glean a bit of the old, “It’s okay, that’s not so bad” solace. Instead, I heard, “Oh, wow, you shouldn’t have said that. You did what?” along with detecting through the receiver a hiss of air sucked between clenched teeth. I hung up feeling worse.

Droopy, I began missing my dad. If my dad still lived, he’d first hear me out over the episode. Though he was a Godly man, he possessed an irreverent sense of humor (something he passed down to me in good measure thank you very much). So then he’d proceed with, “Here’s what you should have said. . . .” At that point, he’d paint a much worse (ridiculous) picture of the scenario and my specific role in it, bringing the both of us to roaring laughter at our humanness. Then he’d wipe the tears of amusement from the corners of his eyes and finish with, “Ah, you’re all right kid. Just do better next time.” I always walked away as if I could face life again, somehow redeemed.

Not able to correct the mistakes I’ve made, even after profuse apologies (sometimes you just can’t take back what you’ve said or done no matter what), I crawled under a rock, as they say, feeling its weight on my back. Then I remembered the voice of my dad, much like the unconditionally loving and forgiving Heavenly Father, hearing it again as if right there beside me: “Ah, you’re all right kid. Just do better next time.” It caused me to resurface. I stood, and today my knees aren’t as wobbly as they seemed yesterday.

You’re right, Dad. I’m gonna be all right - and I promise to do better next time.

Today, I am wiser than I was yesterday. Tomorrow, perhaps I’ll prove wiser than I am today. I could keep wishing for the obliteration of past mistakes, but where would the wisdom be in that?



A former dancer turned novelist, Tessa is the author of (appropriately), The Unforgivable, and the upcoming fantasy romance novella, Wind’s Aria, with more in the works. To see just how many times she can put her foot in her mouth, stop over at www.TessaStockton.com paying special attention to her Blogette.