Without errors, what would life be like?
Let me get this out of the way right away. Throughout my life, I have made a lot of mistakes. Even to this day, I have made mistakes about which I have no idea. I don’t remember very well any of the ones I do know about.
Making errors is a part of life. Sadly, some people believe they have never made a mistake in their lives.
That is the first error.
The mistakes I made in my life are the reason I am where I am today. My mistakes have taught me a lot, but I haven’t learned to not make any more mistakes.
I would have to give that award to the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage if someone had never made a mistake in their life. She may have come closest to making a mistake by marrying me, but that was definitely not her fault. The best decision I’ve ever made in my life was to get married to her.
She probably makes errors, but she knows how to fix them before anyone else does. I’d love to learn how she does that.
Those who believe that they will never make a mistake in life are only fooling themselves and are not truly living.
I recall a mistake I made a few years ago. I planned to stock up on gas for the week in my truck. It was evidently empty. I ought not to have allowed it to drop that low, but I did.
I thought of something I needed to get at Publix, which was on its way, as I drove to the gas station. So I halted, went in and purchased the thing I needed and afterward went out to get in my truck and go get a few gas.
The engine would not start when I turned the key to start it. At the time, I didn’t know what to do. I tried my best to get it started, but nothing I did worked.
After that, I observed on the fuel tank gauge that it had reached empty, indicating that the truck had run out of gas.
That was a major error. I suffered terrible consequences as a result of that error.
I sat in the truck for a couple of seconds gazing at my cell. I was aware of what I needed to do, but I didn’t want to. I tried to start it again in a few minutes, and the same thing happened.
Unobtrusively sitting in the truck, I kept gazing at my PDA. At that time, I had no choice. I had to carry out the task at hand.
I therefore contacted the gracious parsonage mistress.
“My dear,” I asked in a manner that was above my pay grade and was as sweet as I could, “could you get a can of gasoline and bring it to me? I’m at Publix right now.”
On the other end, I heard nothing but silence before I heard laughter.
She asked, trying not to laugh, “Are you telling me that your truck is out of gas?”
She poked fun at me despite knowing the answer to that question.
I jokingly replied, “No, I just want to know if you can bring me a can of gasoline to Publix.”
I figure she could feel the disappointment in my voice.
That positively was one more slip-up added onto the primary misstep.
She responded, “Oh, I might be able to get there in about three hours,” and she did.
Over the phone, I could hear her laughing. Another error I made was pretending not to hear her chuckle.
Thinking that I would have to wait three hours for her to arrive with the truck’s gas, I hang up the phone and sat in my truck.
I gave a fourth deep sigh when I saw my wife parking her van next to my truck and driving it. She had the biggest smile I’ve ever seen when I saw her through the window.
“Is this the truck that’s out of gas?” she asked after getting out of her van.
I had made every mistake I could think of by this point, so I just nodded firmly affirmatively.
She brought a gas can out of her van and placed it next to my vehicle. I grabbed it and poured the contents into the gas tank of my truck.
I finished by returning the can to her van and closing the door. Then, I took a gander at her and essentially said, “Much thanks for your assistance.”
“Do you think you ought to go and fill up your truck with gas now?” she asked with a chuckle.
I told her, “I’m going right now and fill this truck up with as much gas as I can get,” since I had already made no mistakes.
Because I was aware that I would immediately experience the next stage of my wife’s giggling about my mistake when I got home, I took my time going to the gas station and filling up my truck.
Mistakes I’ve made have taught me the most. However, the lessons only come when I correct my mistake.
I like David’s comment, “Who can comprehend his errors? “Sanctify me from my hidden transgressions,” says Psalm 19:12.
It’s one thing to fix the problems right now, but it’s quite another to fix the problems that have been hidden. As a result, I’m learning how to deal with the daily mistakes I’m not aware of.
