Miscalculations

What would you tell your younger you?  That's the question I asked my family.  One of my sons said, 'I would tell myself that I didn't have enough room.'  I turned to him, puzzled.  'You know, when I hit you in the head with the golf club.'  Oh, how I remembered....

Several years ago after his golf lesson, I was showing his older sister how to hold a club and swing.  Unknown to me, he too was practicing his swing right next to me.  All of the sudden I felt a blinding hit to my head.  It brought me to my knees.  I saw stars and blood began to flow.  He and my daughter looked on in horror.  They thought he had killed me.  He didn't.  I just needed a couple of staples, some ibuprofen, and a couple of days rest. It took my kids a lot longer to recover.  

That's how it is when our perception is off and we miscalculate.  It can lead us to startling and even devastating consequences.  'I thought I had enough money for retirement' as you head out the door to a new job at 70.  'I thought I could trust her' when your secret is now the talk of the office.  'I thought I was smart enough to not make that mistake' as you realize you got taken in by a swindler.  'I thought I could get away with that' as your spouse finds out just how much you spent at the mall.  'I thought I could take care of that myself' as you realize you are in way over your head.  'I thought I had more time' as you look at your loved one in the casket.

Miscalculations...they are unnerving.  They remind us of our  humanness, our fragility, and our need for grace.  And how sweet that grace is when we come up short.  It covers us as we deal with the consequences.  It tells us we are not defined by our mistakes.  It tells us we are forgiven.  It tells us that we are still loved and valued.  It heals and restores.   Grace, take it in deeply and then share it with someone who needs it...