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We sat on the porch telling stories. It was a life in Mayberry moment. If I didn’t know better I’d have guessed Barney Fife and Andy Taylor were sitting in the corner.

One of the conversational threads that appeared in our Fife and Andy moment was all the great book titles we could think of. The candidate that brought the most laughs was this…

What to Do When You’re Doing Something You Shouldn’t Do

The hilarity was universal. Everyone on the porch had their own version of “stupid” to tell. The real irony was that despite recognizing our folly the moment it was occurring we each felt compelled to continue!

My story was a bit lame but it was in the running for stupid. I had been making muffins and I realized that I was overfilling the muffin pan. I had paused after about the third muffin and thought,

“Hmmm. That’s probably way too much batter for one muffin.”

My moment of wisdom lasted a whopping half-a-second and then I proceeded to fill every other hole in the muffin pan just as full. My logic was that at least the muffins would be consistent.

They were consistent all right. Consistently BAD. I ended up with a mess of muffins that were burnt on top as a result of trying to cook their underdone middles.

Good. Gravy.

Continuing down the wrong path, even when we know it’s a wrong path, isn’t uncommon.

The challenge is that sometimes there’s a lot more at stake than a pan of muffins. Relationships, personal goals, mental and physical well-being are just a few of the candidates that can suffer when we’re making a poor decision.

The million dollar question then is this…

What DO we do when we’re doing something we shouldn’t do?

The option to quickly redirect is a good one, especially if life or limb is at stake. If that’s the case, we should immediately stop what we’re doing and do something else. But most of the time situations that prick our conscious and make us wonder if there isn’t a better way, aren’t life-threatening.

They are simply an opportunity to learn.

It is in those moments that the first and most important thing we can do is to pause and imagine potential outcomes.

The ability to see into the future is attainable for us all. I’m not talking about a crystal ball and actually seeing events take place. I’m talking about vision, something that the bible says we all need.

Stormie Omartian, the author of The Power of a Praying Wife, shares her personal experience with near divorce in the opening of her book. She tells of the moment that she was ready to pack her bags, her kids, her life and leave her husband.

Before she did, she grabbed her Bible, sat on the floor and poured out her heart to God. She shares that somehow God gave her a very clear picture of what the path of divorce would look like for her and her family. The revelation caused her to re-evaluate her decision to leave.

Today, Stormie’s redeemed marriage and thriving family are a testimony to the important role vision can play.

So what does that mean for you and me?

We may need to take a step back and allow the consequences of what we are doing sink in. We may have to ask ourselves:

There are plenty of talking points on how to turn a new leaf or redirect a behavior (all of which I often need), but today’s post is simply about acknowledging the first and most important step—

Grasping the Consequences

Vision is what will give us the motivation to change and it is vision that will carry us when the change is hard. 

So what do ya say we grab our fedoras and our best Humphrey Bogart imitation as we latch our eyes on to the future and say,

“Here’s lookin’ at you kid.”

Savoring the journey with you,

Cindy

 

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