Think Before You Act

Have you ever done something without thinking, and afterward wished you had thought for just a second and made a better choice?

This happened to me on Sunday.

I’ve been in charge of the misprinted mug distribution at church. Love it. Love organizing, and working with people, and even spreadsheets. We’re nearing the end of pick-ups, and had some leftover mugs. One of the people on the list was leaving church, and I wanted to catch them before they got out the door.

And instead of thinking for a split second and reminding myself that:
A- I am not and have never been a runner
B- I am super clumsy
C- I just turned 46 and not 10…

I just took off across the Commons like I was FloJo in the ’88 olympics. I was gonna give that person their mug, dagnabbit!!

Have the context clues given you an idea of how this story might end? If you witnessed it, shhhh don’t ruin the story for the others.

Well if you guessed that I would trip over my own feet five steps into my sprint, and fall full-force on both my knees, you would be correct.

What you probably couldn’t guess is that I also swung my arm out and knocked a gift bag off the New Here kiosk, shattering a new mug in the process, spilling the contents of the bag all over the floor, and garnering much more attention than just plain old falling down would have.

As I was falling I actually thought to myself: “Keep going, maybe you can run it out.” Uh-huh. Yeah, right. All I could picture was getting to the glass doors and my head shattering them as I actually, finally fell.

So I made myself just fall and get it over with.

But I popped right back up like nothing happened (à la Urkel or Pee Wee Herman) and ran outside to catch the person.

And catch them I did. Booyah!

Walking back into the building I was a little dazed, to be honest. What just happened? Was I really okay? How come I wasn’t sore? Did anyone see me? DID MY DRESS FLY UP OVER MY HEAD?!?

pleasetellmeitdidnt

I went over to the New Here kiosk workers and apologized for making a mess, and they were very gracious, asking if I was alright. I assured them I was (though I wasn’t really sure). Then I walked over to my friends like nothing happened, but asked if my dress flew up, they assured me it didn’t. Whew!

They said I popped back up like nothing happened.

The trouble was, adrenaline was now wearing off, and oddly enough, my knees were starting to hurt. But I played it off, said my goodbyes, and went behind the south info center to wait for other mug collectors. I had not yet assessed the damage, and was afraid to look, honestly.

I half expected blood to be running down my legs, and holes in my dress from the impact, because that was how I rolled as a kid, but neither was the case. However, serious friction burns were on both knees, and I was feeling it.

Oof.

I shared with a few people what I did, and a kind man who had seen me fall came over to ask if I was alright. After hearing the story, my pastor asked if I needed a stool, and while that was so sweet, I declined.

Because I was fine. Really. I was fine.

But I showed a few of my lady friends the damage anyway. Maybe so they would feel bad for me. Or know I had been hurt. Or agree with me that it looked awful. I honestly don’t know why I showed them.

If only I had stopped to think. If only I had given myself some good advice. If only I could go back and do it over…

This applies also to my spiritual life. Of course it does. What doesn’t?

Sometimes I do things without thinking. And sometimes those decisions have painful consequences.

Consequences that hurt me for quite a while after, and take up valuable time working to heal the wounds they caused. And the healing process is not easy. It is often painful. More painful than the original consequences? Yeah, sometimes.

Swallowing your pride hurts quite a lot as it turns out.

And sometimes thoughtless decisions leave scars, not only on me, but on others. Imagine if I had plowed into someone else and knocked them down. Imagine if and glass from the mug that broke had hurt someone else.

I mean, no one expect shrapnel to go flying through the Commons on a Sunday morning, amiright?

And even though people see me fall, I try to convince them and myself that I am fine. No, really, I’m good! [insert smokescreen] I pop back up, and even though I’m hurting, I’m too scared to assess the damage, so I ignore it.

That’s never good.

Don’t act like everything is fine. You know it isn’t. God knows it isn’t. Everyone in the Commons knows it isn’t. Pretending it is doesn’t make anything better.

What I need to do is assess the damage. Then I need to make it right with God first, and then with others. Then I need to figure out how to heal the wounds, and be committed to the process.

And I need to learn to think before I act. That saves so much trouble.

Proverbs 13:14-16
The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. (15) Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard. (16) Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly.

Proverbs 22:3-4 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished. (4) By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.