WATER DAMAGE

Sometimes really bad things can happen to really good people.  

But sometimes, really stupid things can happen to halfway decent people.

Case in point.

So, I'm up in the middle of the night last night.  This time the insomnia was the *I-fell-asleep-just-fine-but-woke-up-and-couldn't-go-back-to-sleep* kind. I lay there pondering the imponderables, and then I decided that maybe if I ate something I'd get sleepy.

Seems to work just fine at Thanksgiving.

So, I got up to fix a bowl of Cream of Wheat.  Don't ask me why that appealed.  Perhaps a warm bowl of grain product sounded sleep-inducing. (No milk in the house).

I was just bringing the bowl over to the coffee table, just setting it down on the coffee table…in the dark…when the "dumbs" hit.  I knocked over a FULL and LARGE cup of lemon water.  It was one of those plastic protein drink cups with a *drinkee spout thing*.

I could hear the liquid gurgling out…fast.

Quickly turning on the light, I was chagrined to see a huge puddle of water spreading on the carpet.  But, more than that, I was horrified to see the other place the water was going.

Directly into my little plastic tote, full of my devotional books.

Yes, the ones that I’ve been studying all year.

The ones that I guard with my life.  The ones that are NOT dog-eared, NOT written in or highlighted, NOT bent, NOT spine-cracked.  The ones that are as pristine as the day I bought them.

I take pretty good care of my books.  Good *librarian* care.

I could have cried.

I would have if I had not had to race to the kitchen to retrieve the entire roll of paper towels to start my cleanup.

I started with the devotionals.

What a mess.

Pages were now water-warped and crinkled.  I fanned the pages to make sure that none were sticking together.  I laid them out as carefully as I could to let them dry out overnight.  

I tackled the carpet last.

When I finally sat down to eat my Cream of Wheat, it was cold.  I didn't have the energy to re-heat it, so I ate it like Goldilocks with Mama Bear's bowl of porridge.

Thinking to myself.

Thinking how a dumb move can ruin a lot of things…fast.

Thinking how stupid mistakes can set a domino effect of consequences into motion.


Sin can be like that.

It can be hugely evil, yes.  Ugly and awful.  But sometimes it can be just plain stupid.

We humans are prone to acting without thinking, leaping without looking.  We are prone to pleasing ourselves without pondering the aftermath.

Mistakes can make a mess.  They can create sticky situations.

Fortunately, that is what forgiveness is all about.

Cleaning up the mess.


I'm thinking about last night.  And I'm thinking how my careless mistake created a mess I needed to clean up.  But also, my mistake damaged my devotionals.

Just like life.  

Sinful mistakes, dumb sinful mistakes, can tarnish the Holy Spirit within us.  They can thwart God's purposes.  They can ruin things.  And though the mess can be cleaned up, the aftermath lingers on.

But God is all about the aftermath.

He is the only One who can forgive our sins, ease guilt, restore relationships, rectify mistakes, conquer consequences, and clean up the mess.

I'm eternally grateful He does.


Yes, my devotionals will always be *damaged* now.  But they are still filled with words telling me about the wonders of God.

Dumb choices can leave some damage.  But we can still be filled with words to tell about the wonders of God. 

Friends, our stories may have left us with scars – but our scars are our story.

And God wants us to tell our stories.

Because He wants us to tell people about His ending.  The *happily-ever-after* ending where we are forgiven and redeemed.


Dumb and stupid sin happens.

Messy life occurs.

But thank the Lord, we have Someone who will rescue us from ourselves.  We have Someone who will clean us up with forgiveness. We have Someone who died for us so we'd never have to face the aftermath of the afterlife.


We have a Savior.

"Lord, please hand me some paper towels."

He reached down from heaven and rescued me...
...he drew me out of deep waters. 

"'Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.'" (John 7:38, NIV)

"'But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.'" 
(John 4:14, NLT)

"And he also said, 'It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega--the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.'" (Revelation 21:6, NLT)

"Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb." (Revelation 22:1, NLT)



How has God cleaned up a *messy mistake* in your life?


Linked today with:

Joan at SHARING HIS BEAUTY
Michelle at HEAR IT ON SUNDAY, USE IT ON MONDAY
Hazel at TELL ME A TRUE STORY
Darlene at TITUS 2SDAY
Jen at UNITE
Rachel at WHIMSICAL WEDNESDAYS
Tracy at WINSOME WEDNESDAY
Shari at WORD FILLED WEDNESDAY
Laura at FAITH FILLED FRIDAY
Wanda at THE FRIDAY FIVE
Mel at ESSENTIAL FRIDAYS
Gail at TGIF
Charlotte at SPIRITUAL SUNDAYS
Sandy at STILL SATURDAY
Barbie at WEEKEND BREW
Janis at SUNDAY STILLNESS


BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"