Mistakes Happen!

 

Mistake are a fact of life. No matter how we try to avoid them, they happen. Sometimes we get so worried about making mistake that we may make the situation even worse. How we react to those mistakes is what shows our character.

Many years ago when I was a beginning teacher in the Escondido, CA area, the salary was not enough to carry us through the summer. I had to work other jobs to help meet the needs. One summer, I worked for a man named Al Keiffer. He and his son John ran an electrical contracting business. They we both exceptionally talented and were well known in the area. I’m sure I made them laugh more than once when I fried screw drivers, dropped things, and generally slowed them down. They both trained me patiently, although John did enjoys sending me up ladders as often as he could get away with it. I do not enjoy ladders, but that is another story.

One job I will never forget is wiring a set of gas pumps at a station that was being renovated. It was technical & challenging because there were very rigid specifications for the way things were to be done. One day Al ask me to cut off a pipe that was sticking down in the way. He reminded me that it was right above the fiberglass pipes that transport the fuel and admonished me to be slow and careful. I grabbed a hacksaw and carefully started cutting. I even positioned my foot under the pipe as a cushion. Because of the pipes position I had to adjust my angle to finish the cut. I moved my foot. With a last draw of the blade the pie was free and gracefully slid out of the grasp of my glove, dropping squarely onto the pipe. I can’t say my life passed before my eyes (I mean I was only 24 at the time) but it was one of those slow motion moments that one does not forget. There on the pipe was a cloudy spot that was the tell-tale sign of a crack. I looked around. There was no one in sight. I’m ashamed to admit that the temptation to just cover it up with pea gravel and forget about it was a viable option at that moment. Knowing what I should do, I went to Al and told him that I may have just spent my whole day’s wages. He looked at it and said that he would ask the foreman of the pipe fitters. A few minutes later he came back with a slight smirk on his face and told me, “You have no idea what you have done.” It turned out it was a vent pipe. They can be easily patched. If it had been a delivery pipe it would have needed replacing. Basically, no harm, no foul. But what the foreman said next was telling. “Where do you find employees like that? Even my one men would have just covered it up and we would have had to go searching for the pressure leak. Al got to tell him that we were Christians, and that God requires honesty. He just walked away shaking his head. Al smiled and said “Thank you. You know who he will call for the next job.” Mistakes happen. Face them, tell the truth, it’s the right way – its God’s way.

The one whose walk is blameless,
    who does what is righteous,
    who speaks the truth from their heart;

whose tongue utters no slander,
    who does no wrong to a neighbor,
    and casts no slur on others;
 who despises a vile person
    but honors those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
    and does not change their mind;
who lends money to the poor without interest;
    who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.

Whoever does these things
    will never be shaken.    Psalm 15:2-5