I’m going to let all of you in on a little secret about me that most people don’t know - I am clumsy. Last week alone I had three blisters on my toes, a cut on a finger, a busted lip from someone running into me with something and then I burnt two fingers so badly, my husband contemplated taking me to the hospital (only one finger came up with a blister). I was banned from cooking while my two fingers healed. I don’t know when this clumsiness started, but I can remember a few pictures as a child with stitches so it must have been early on. If I stop and think about all these little mishaps that occur during the course of my days, I could get real down on myself. Rather than focusing on my inadequacies in my life on any given day, I’ve learned the following: (1.) Spend very little time on petty wounds. Stop the bleeding, clean and bandage the area and move on. Try not to let it prevent you from being productive. The same can be said of relationships. So many times petty arguments and disagreements can lead to problems that can be blown out of proportion. Recognize them for what they really are, nuances. (2.) Forgive myself when I get injured or destroy things in the house (including vehicles and objects in the yard). I’ve often had to explain through tears to my husband about why I was bleeding or how I broke something and His response, with his arms tightly around me - it’s only things. Learn how to quickly forgive (yourself and others) and place important value on things that really matter. (3.) Recognize that you (and I) are imperfect creatures. No matter how hard I try to not need band-aids, it just doesn’t work. No matter how hard any of us try to be perfect, we never will. Romans 3:10 NLT “As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous - [good]. Recognize your weaknesses, all the while striving to do better. (4.) Give God my (your) hurts. I remember cutting my finger a few years ago on a can of beans I had just opened for supper. I got a new can opener as a result of the ordeal. I sat in the ER for hours waiting to receive 7 stitches over my knuckle. I had to wear them for two weeks. It was an awful thing to have to deal with along with caring for three young boys at the time. I remember coming home and praying, Lord, why do these things keep happening to me? Turn over your mistakes and failures to God immediately. Do not hold on to anything. (5.) Trust God even when life doesn’t make sense. I was caught in a flash flood several years ago on my way to work. I turned down a side road to turn around, only to find that this road was flooded more than the road I had just come from. In my attempt to make it to higher ground, the SUV and I ended up sideways in a deep ditch. The water flooded into the vehicle and filled up to the dash board, but didn’t go over it. In time, it dried out, and with a few repairs, it was drivable for the next nine years.
I’d like to say that I promise to slow down and be careful, but even doing that hasn’t kept me from mishaps. Through the years my husband has even had impromptu safety meetings with me, but all to no avail. I have noticed that I do have times when I seem to be without as many mishaps as before and I’m drawn to thinking, I’m better now…then my husband sharpens the kitchen knives.
2 Corinthians 4:17 (AMP) “For our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!]”