Making the Most of Mistakes!

 “Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life.”  Sophia Loren 

  Have you ever dialed a wrong number? I’m not talking about a butt call, but actually getting the numbers confused and dialing a wrong number. How about making a wrong turn? Sent an email to the wrong person or did a reply all when you should have replied to one person? 

  2022 is still in the delivery room. You probably already know this…you’re going to make mistakes this year, lots of them.

  There’s a tendency for most people to confuse mistakes with sins. They’re not the same. The term “mistake” implies an error in judgment—something done unintentionally. A legitimate mistake might be…turning onto a one-way street, going the wrong way, or pouring salt into your coffee, thinking it was sugar, calling someone the wrong name or completely forgetting their name. It’s picking up Pepsi when you’re supposed to buy Coke. These could all be legitimate mistakes.

  A sin is more than a mistake. It’s a deliberate choice to do something you know is wrong. The word “transgression” is stronger. It implies deliberately stepping over a boundary. 

  In 2022, you’re going to make mistakes. Mistakes though are just part of an imperfect world. They can even be fun or open doors to new adventures.

  At the beginning of December 2021 one Pontiac, Michigan, high school basketball team sent out a group text to a wrong number. The person that they inadvertently messaged was Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback, Sean Murphy-Bunting. Their mistake would lead to a FaceTime call with some of the biggest stars in the Bucs' locker room that day.

  The call started because they didn't believe who Murphy-Bunting was. He then got tight end, Rob Gronkowski, to join in, before handing the phone off to cornerback, Richard Sherman, and running back, Leonard Fournette. Fournette stayed on FaceTime for a good 10 minutes while Tom Brady finished up a meeting. The boys are absolutely losing it during this. After some time passes he pops up on the screen and says “What’s up fellas?!?!” And those boys lose their minds!

  “That was sweet,” Brady said of the impromptu FaceTime. “I didn't know who it was. [Leonard] said, ‘Here's my boy’ or whatever he said. It was nice. It would have been nice for me when I had been in high school too.”

  And when Tom Brady found out the kids were from Michigan? “Even better,” he said. “That was fun. That was really fun. It was really good to see all those young kids hyped up.”

  That’s a mistake that they’ll tell their children and grandchildren about. To me, it’s what makes Tom Brady a G.O.A.T. It’s not just his unbelievable skills on the football field, it’s how he and those other professional football players treated some teenagers who had simply dialed the wrong number.

  You’re going to make mistakes. I’m going to make mistakes. Everyone you know is going to make mistakes.

  If you can, enjoy your mistakes. If you make a wrong turn or miss your exit, the world will not end. If you dial a wrong number, it’s just human error. If you spill something or break something or lose something…it’s just a mistake. 

  One of the greatest gifts that a parent can give a child is the freedom to make mistakes. Kids accidentally spill things, break things, and lose things (Big kids do too!). It’s part of growing up. It’s not the time to read them the riot act. It was just part of being human…just like their parents.

  Most of us need to learn to take life far less seriously. I’ll never forget when Jane and I were first married and I wanted to repay a friend for repairing my car with a southern meal. So I cooked: fried chicken, biscuits, and buttermilk gravy to repay him. But I made a big mistake with the biscuits. Rather than a teaspoon of baking powder, I didn’t understand the abbreviation and put in a tablespoon of baking powder. They were horrible! But my friend was so gracious and only laughed at my blunder. 

  Turn mistakes into adventures and opportunities. Our children always knew that life for our family was about to get interesting if we were driving somewhere and either Jane or I looked at each other and said, “Pudding!”

  It’s a code word from the George Bernard Shaw play, Pygmalion (it later inspired the film version, My Fair Lady). For the two actors who used the code word, it meant that an adventure had started. 

  Life is often an adventure and a fun one. There were many unique places we went or people that we met just because we’d made a wrong turn. Rather than becoming angry or anxious, look for the fun opportunity.

  Alaska is one of the fifty states because Russia thought they needed money more than territory and sold it to the U.S. for a mere 2 cents an acre. Though ridiculed “Seward’s Folly” mocking then U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward’s purchase of the territory, in just 50 years the USA was able to earn from Alaska more than 100 times what they had invested in its purchase. 

  Let your mistakes cultivate that needed gift of humility in your life. J.K. Rowling, who was a client of the Christopher Little Literary Agency, was rejected 12 times in row for her first novel. Finally, when the eight-year-old daughter of an editor at Bloomsbury expressed her desire to read the rest of the book, Bloomsbury decided to publish Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. However, the editor believed that this novel would be a major flop, and even went to the extent of advising Rowling to look for a backup day-time job. And the rest is history. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which was released in 1997, and the following four novels in the series, became the fastest-selling books ever, with a total of 450 million copies sold worldwide. It’s the bestselling book series in literary history. 

  Life is not a planned perfect selfie. It’s more like a scene from America’s Funniest Bloopers. You can choose to become embarrassed or irritated, or you can laugh at the reminder that you’re human. Being human means we humbly admit that we blow it and don’t have all of the answers.

  In 2022 learn to laugh at yourself. It will keep your soul healthy (Proverbs 17:22) and give you some needed perspective that this isn’t a perfect world and neither are we. And taking life a lot less seriously sure makes the day-to-day journey a lot more enjoyable! 

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

  

 

 

 

I confess...I'm a Fair Weather Fan

“I’m such a fair weather fan, 

I disown my team when they almost lose.”

  In spite of all my “trash talking” for the past few weeks, I have to confess that I’m a fair weather fan. I do hope the Falcons win this afternoon. And I’m in good company…it’s easy to hate Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.

  I’m sure it helps you to love football if you actually played. My Dad prohibited us from playing, explaining that he’d seen too many middle-aged men suffering from lifelong football injuries. Then, when I was growing up, the Falcons were a fairly young team (the franchise began in 1965) and they just weren’t very good. The only players who stand out in my mind from that era are Tommy Nobis and Greg Brezina.

  While my Dad actually had season tickets for at least one season, he wasn’t an avid fan. Though he watched college football on Saturdays (University of Georgia), I don’t recall an NFL game ever being watched in our home. Add to that, because I was part of Independent Baptist churches for much of my life and we always had Sunday night services, until 1996, I’d never actually watched a Super Bowl. We were often guilt-tripped into coming to church instead of watching the game with slogans like “Super Christians come to church on Sunday on Super Bowl Sunday.” So the next day when everyone was talking about the big game or the commercials, I didn’t have a clue what they were talking about.

  There are lots of fair weather fans. Falcon fans are notorious for being a bit fair weather. It’s always easier to cheer for a winner, but tough to hang in there for a loser. Pardon my potential blasphemy: Does it really matter?  

  It’s great to cheer for a team and enjoy them, but if they win or lose, does it alter your life? Will it truly make a difference? Some fans are actually depressed for several days when their team loses. Some get into fights and even riot if their team loses. It’s just a game. And as our Cub fan friends reminded us for over a century, “there’s always next year.”

  Something far more serious though is a “fair weather Christian.” Be honest. What does it take to sidetrack you in your Christian life? For most of us, very little. Why is that?

  Primarily, it’s because many of us have never developed a theology of suffering. Somehow we naively think that in this life we’ll have smooth sailing. In many ways, when we trust Christ as Savior and know that we’re going to Heaven someday, we expect Heaven now. We’d probably never actually say that, yet it’s often bubbling somewhere just below the surface.

  We’re as confused about God and how He works as Job’s friends were. Many think that if things are going well, no one’s sick, there’s little or no suffering, then we must be pleasing God and doing the right thing. We quickly thank God for His blessings and protection, as if they’re signs that He’s on the job and we’re doing the right thing. Yet, when things go bad, we tend to think, “What did I do wrong?” Or, become judgmental of others when they have trials, as Job’s friends did, assuming when bad things happen to someone, it’s some type of divine Karma. Some are so confused that they think that God owes them? None of this is what Scripture teaches.

  Jesus promised Heaven to those who trust Him as their Lord and Savior, but not in this life. He clearly warned us, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). This world is the closest thing to Heaven unbelievers will ever experience; it’s the closest thing to hell believers will ever know. Sin and suffering are inevitable for even God’s people in this life. The reason we choose to be faithful and not succumb to fair weatherness is that we’re confident that all the suffering is temporary. No matter how horrible it is, it’s transitory.

  Today your life may seem like hell, but it isn’t. Hell never ends. All of our present suffering will end, decisively, once and for all. Periodically, we wonderfully have foretastes of Heaven now, but once we experience Heaven, it will last forever. Our hope is to view today in light of tomorrow. “We are looking forward to new heavens and a new earth” (2 Peter 3:13).

  Recently, I went to the dentist to have some cavities filled. If you’re like me, going to the dentist to have work done is one of your least favorite things in life. Yet, it wasn’t too bad. I’d asked beforehand how long my appointment would take and was told an hour. An hour isn’t very long…I can endure nearly anything for an hour. Plus, I have a great dentist who’s very careful to make procedures as pain free as possible.

  Every heartbreak in this life is like that. And even in the midst of our harshest pain, the child of God is never alone. Jesus walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death. His grace is sufficient. If that grace was enough for Him on the Cross, surely it’s enough for me and for you.

  As Christians, we know the worst is temporary and fullness of joy awaits us. Hebrews 11 tells us of men and women who did much for God. They persevered because they trusted, knowing the Father had something better for them. They believed His promises in spite of extreme suffering.   

  When Charles Wesley, the great hymn writer, was sailing across the Atlantic after a failed mission trip in the Colonies, a huge storm struck and Wesley was terrified. Yet the Moravians, the evangelical Christians on board, gathered together, prayed and sang some psalms. “Alas,” wrote Wesley in his diary that night, “I have a fair-weather Christianity.” 

  As the inevitable storms crash on your life, trust the Father. Cry to Him for grace and faith to persevere until you arrive Home. Because anyone can be fair weather. God’s fullness of joy, peace and richest blessings are for those who determine to rest in Him and be faithful through the storms. 

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.