I Can Make A Big Mess All By Myself

Since the beginning of mankind, people have had a tendency to blame others. In Genesis 3:11-13, God confronts Adam and Eve after they eat of the forbidden fruit.

God said, “Have you eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded you that you should not eat?”

Adam said, “The woman You gave me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.”

The LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?”

Eve said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat…”

Adam blames Eve, indirectly blaming God, “the woman You gave me.” Eve blames the serpent. There you have it. When it comes to humanity, as Solomon said in Ecclesiastics 1:9: “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”

We have a hard time accepting the rap for unfavorable things we are responsible for, but I certainly don’t see that same tendency when we do favorable things that will get us a compliment or two. Or is it just me?

I was done making my afternoon smoothie of protein powder, coconut milk, stevia and black-raspberries! Yum! I removed the lid from the blender cup, and gently twisted and pulled to remove the full to the brim cup of  delilght; my mouth salivating over the cool, sweet, thick goop of deliciousness. Then, I accidently pressed the only button on this mini-blender. And…

Yep, you guessed it.

Smoothie ALL over! The worst part is, you ready? This is the fourth time I have done this! Fourth, as in 4^th, as in FOURTH time!  The other three times, I had situations to blame for blowing strawberry, blueberry or raspberry smoothie everywhere.

Once, my dog standing next to me, unexpectedly barked at some random noise.  Another time, I was distracted by the “discussion” my husband and I were having. The next time, doorbell rang, dog barked. These happened just as I was pulling my lidless drink off the blender.

What happened this time?

Well…um…

Nothing.

I was by myself. No random noises, door bells, barking or “discussions.” Mea culpa, mi culpa, simply my fault. I wanted a taste of that drink and was not paying attention. I can hear you saying, “Why don’t you just take the lid off after you get it off the blender? Duh!”

I usually do keep the lid on, or it would have happened more than four times. My only gripe with this blender is the button. Soft. Smooth. You can hardly tell it’s there, easily and unintentionally accessible, which is great! Unless you forget the lid. Just so you know, I have made hundreds of these smoothies!

Sometimes, the protein powder sticks to the sides of the cup after it is blended, so I remove the lid, scrape it off the sides, stir it in, and lick the spoon. Those four times, I forgot to put the lid back on. See how that can happen? The button happens to be where one naturally grabs the blender-body to pull the cup off. Though, I can blame it on that button, I truly was just distracted by my desire for the smoothie.

Same reason I have made some past dumb choices. Not really thinking about what I was doing in my haste to get to something that looked good at the time. Thinking just about me! Yep. Can’t blame anyone or anything!

I was frustrated with the mess I had, AGAIN, made. I believe there is a lesson to be learned in unlikely situations. “What good can come from this?” I asked God, feeling stupid about the mess. The thought came.

“Write a post. You have made messes with greater consequences than this, you know?”

Boy, do I. Anyone familiar with my posts knows two things about me, I love God, and I have made huge mistakes. Yet God graciously forgives me, as he will anyone who asks.

I cleaned globs of smoothie off the floor to get to my camera. I didn’t take pictures of the thick, red mess running down the cabinets, splattered on the fridge, oven or on my nose. Yep, there too!  I’ve left that to your imagination!

“But Lord, I just pressed that stupid button one split second!” I said in frustration.

“That’s all it takes, sometimes, for huge mistakes or even a tragedy. One split second.” I heard in my mind.

I assume it took one split second for Eve’s teeth to sink into that fruit.

How many people are in jail because of one split second? Or because they blamed someone else for their wrongdoing?

The motorcycle accident that took my 27 year old son’s life happened in one split second.

It was one of those freak accidents.  He wasn’t at fault. He was on vacation, and was going to pass a van on a two-lane highway, not knowing that a deer, hit by the car in front of the van, was stumbling on the road. Jonathan went to pass, but traffic was coming from the other direction. The van driver put on his brakes the split second Jonathan pulled back into his lane. Had the van not slowed down the way it did, Jonathan could have pulled back into his lane safely. He was a police officer, he was trained in driving maneuvers.

At first, I blamed and resented the van driver. The police report mentioned the van’s possible brake light malfunction. The questions flooded my head. If only the deer wasn’t on the road, or the driver pulled to the side instead, or Jonathan left earlier or later that morning. If only, if only, if only! I drove myself nuts with dozens of if onlys. But, I knew deep inside, that it was the time God had set apart for his homecoming, just as He set a time apart for his birth.

There is huge relief in my soul, and not one iota of doubt, that Jesus Himself was there on that highway immediately after the accident. I know He was. He comforted and held Jonahan in His arms; just before He took him with Him, right off that highway and into Heaven.

The point is that one split second is all it takes to push a button, to make poor decisions and giant mistakes, and for something tragic to happen; no matter who is at fault. Irreparable things. We cannot take one minute of the day for granted, not one second.

A clean kitchen and a purple washcloth later, I realized the importance of taking the time to stop, look and listen, before doing even simple things. I am so grateful for God’s grace and mercy. Even when we are rushing to please ourselves, He’s there alongside, giving us love and grace.

This reminds me. Do you know where your eternity will be spent if you are called off the planet in just one second? If the answer is “No.” or “I’m not sure.” or “I think I may have done enough good deeds;” you may want to call or visit this site. Need Him Ministries. I am not affiliated with them, just like I don’t know you, but I care about you. 1-888-NEED HIM or you can go to: chataboutjesus.org

By ~ Elizabeth Yalian 2013 ©http://hiseyeisonthissparrow.com.