“Oops! What Do I Do Now?”

Let's start with a thought we can relate to. Here it is. The primary purpose of your pinky toe is to periodically check whether your furniture is still hard. I can sense some of you are groaning as you read this. You’re remembering when your toe confirmed your furniture is still hard. Am I right about that?  

I discovered a quote on Facebook that resonated strongly with my followers, who tested their toes' ability to withstand pain in everyday life situations. It's a quote by Deanna Wadsworth. "There are four things you can't recover: 1. The stone after the throw. 2. The word after it's said. 3. The occasion after it's missed. 4. The time after it's gone." Hint: Read those four short sentences again. It’ll do you good and help you too!  

These four issues are all saying the same thing. If you don’t want to go through a toe jam, a ‘furniture meets toe’ experience, look before you leap. Think before you speak. Act before you react. Plan before you build. Watch your thoughts, because your thoughts become words and words become actions. Don't just watch time; watch your timing. Be mindful that what we do and what we say has consequences, both good, not so good, and plain awful. 

We relate to this quote because we have been there, right? How many times have I tried to chase and catch the words that came out of my mouth? I spoke in haste, and then in my mind, I said to myself, "Oh no, I can't believe I said something that stupid, that insensitive, or that hurtful. I didn't communicate my meaning. That will be misunderstood. When I try, in my mind, to chase down and catch those words, it's like I'm running in slow motion, but I never can catch up to the words. I get right up to the point where I can grab my words before they reach the person, and then trip. My 'out-of-body' experience now was caused by my 'out of mind' experience earlier. Sound familiar?  

Email is even worse. Why? Our words are on virtual paper now. There's visible evidence of what we said. The more you try to delete your words on your side, the more the receiver will hit repeat. 

Then there are actions to consider. How often have I counseled someone who wishes they could have one night back in their lives when they made an enormous mistake driven by immediate gratification or the heat of the moment? How many do you and I know who wish they could have one business decision back, one relationship ended, or one strategic life choice made or not made? How many people do we know who missed an opportunity or an occasion right in front of them because they couldn't see the opportunity? Mark Twain noted that he had never seen an opportunity until it had ceased to be one. Why do we resonate with that quote? We resemble that. 

I like the country-western song about a guy who got into all kinds of trouble on a date because of his ‘stinking' thinking. The song is appropriately called, "What was I thinking?" If I were his counselor, I would summarize his problem this way: "You're not thinking with your thinker. I think you're thinking with your winker, you stinker." I used to teach this when I was a Singles Pastor. 

The problem with being impulsive is that it's impulsive. Likewise, the problem with being late is that it's late. Knowing what and when requires uncommon sense, because common sense is not very common these days. 

You might be saying, "It's too late, what do I do now?" Here are a few ways to minimize roadkill and do some damage control. If applied, this advice will significantly reduce our emotional clutter. Emotional clutter comes from decisions made or missed in the 'woulda, shoulda, coulda' times in our lives. 

Firstly, forgive yourself. Then ask forgiveness from the offended party. When and where possible, make restitution. Try to make it right in a real and tangible way. That's not so much for them as it is for you. Secondly, when initially tempted to attack (fight) or hide (flee), don't. Thirdly, understand that it is much easier not get into the trap than try and get out of the trap once you are in it. 

Jesus told us to pray for uncommon sense every day in the Lord's Prayer. "Lead me not into temptation…" Do you know what that means in my language? "Lord, help me make good decisions today and not do something stupid because, if given a chance, I will do something stupid." 

This article can help us better understand the four stumbling blocks in life that we are addressing today. Sometimes we need to be reminded to look before we leap, and to leap only when it's right to look. And it will limit the number of toe aches we create.  

And, your two little toes say, "Amen and toe-tally awesome, Dude!"