A Hot Mess

Some mornings don’t start in the desired fashion. I am a person who likes routine. I do the same thing the same way every morning on workdays. I have found that if I deviate from that routine, the chance of me forgetting to do something dramatically increases. There was a substantial deviation from my routine yesterday. Fortunately, I did not forget anything. However, it did cost me some extra time before leaving the house.

Part of my routine after leaving my room in the morning is to get my coffee brewing and then start getting dressed in the next room. When I return to the kitchen, I add my creamer to my coffee and continue with the rest of my routine.  This was the place when my routine came apart.

When I walked into the kitchen, I saw brown liquid covering a large portion of my counter next to my coffee maker. My first thought was that the cup was too small for the selected portion. I thought it overflowed. When I removed my travel mug, it was light, as if it was empty. That is because it had no coffee in it, at all.

It did not take long to discover the problem. The top of the travel mug was still on the top of my cup. An unfortunate mistake made a big mess.

There are various ways that people would handle this problem. Some people would blame the cup for having a top in the first place. While this makes no sense to most of us, we probably know someone like this. Some people refuse to admit that they have any responsibility for the problems. I have discovered that I usually have at least some faults in the mess with which I find myself.

Others would cry about the mess, but not do anything.

about the problem. They would even tell friends about their unfortunate situation so they could cry together. There is nothing wrong with crying. It just does not solve anything. After the tears have fallen, you still have a mess. Some people would prefer to cry until someone else cleans the mess for them. Even if someone else does clean your mess, you still have not learned to handle messy situations. We all know that one messy situation will not be the only one we have.

Some will see the mess and pretend it did not happen. This also does not fix the situation. Ignoring a problem does not make it go away. When you return to the scene, it is still there. Most of the time, the issue has become worse because of the neglect.

My choice for yesterday's mess seemed like a no-brainer, though I know many who would have chosen the other options. I cleaned the mess. Paper towels and wet rags were readily available, so I used them. I may not be the best at cleaning, but I must have done a decent job because my wife did not complain about sticky counters.

We should take after Jesus when it comes to fixing problems. When people were hungry, he did not ignore them. He handled the issue and fed over 4 thousand people once and over five thousand another time. He also taught those around him not to wait for others to solve the problem but to deal with it like in the parable of the Good Samaritan. The problem may not be your fault, but if there is a problem, be part of the solution. Don’t just solve the problem, teach others to solve problems.

Everyone has problems. Some problems are more significant than others. Some cannot be handled alone. Get help. Know that you are not alone. Most of all, trust God to get you through.

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them from all their troubles. (Psalm 34:17)

The Dog Chaser

Many years ago, I held a job as a meter reader. Going onto people's properties to get to an electric or gas meter could sometimes be an adventure.

I remember this one house that raised about two feet off the ground. It set back about one hundred feet away from the front fence. The electric meter was on the right rear side of the house. As any seasoned meter reader would do, I checked for signs of trouble before entering. I rattled the gate, saw no food bowls or animal tracks, and called out to alert anyone or anything that I was entering.

I cautiously approached the house and remained alerted for possible unseen danger. It was not until I reached the front corner before a full-grown German Shepherd came from under the house running full speed in my direction. He was not happy with my presence in his territory.

It is truly amazing how fast the mind can think. I went through possible scenarios of escape. I could not outrun the dog, at least not in the distance required. In those tenths of seconds that I had, I was struggling to get a reasonable idea. No good ideas came to mind.

Out of time and needing to act fast, I acted on impulse with what seemed like an incredibly stupid plan. I took my handheld device for inputting readings from the meters, lifted it over my head with one hand and ran at the German Shepherd full speed yelling.

What was I thinking? At this point, not a lot.

The result of my action was more than I could have expected. The German Shepherd's hair stood straight up on its back.  It turned and ran as far away from me as it could and hid. I was able to back out of the yard with the electric meter's reading. I was able to calm down and breathe again.

We all have problems that we face in life. Ignoring them does not make them disappear. Sometimes these problems are developed over a long time. Sometimes they present themselves suddenly.

I thought about this story when I read about David and Goliath. Goliath was a big problem for David, but he ran towards the problem to defeat it.

We certainly need to be watchful of possible troubles to avoid them from becoming catastrophic. I do not mean live in fear of everything just do not let your guard down. Do not run from the trouble in your life. Do something to overcome it.

Most of the time, we will have more time to think about what to do than just tenths of a second.  Use the time to prepare a winning strategy. Talk to people that have succeeded in dealing with the same sort of trouble. Some people are not looking out for your best interest. Make sure you consult with wise and knowledgeable people.

Like people have said, "Doing something is better than doing nothing." You can always check and adjust your plan later if needed.