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I Was Wrong But It’s Not Irreversible – Part 1

Don’t ever think doing something wrong for a long time is irreversible.

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When you do something wrong for long enough, one has a sense that it will be permanent.

It’s probably true with some things that if you set a pattern, and that pattern is in place for a long time, it will not be broken. So if the pattern is wrong, that’s just what it will be.

Recently I was checking the knee brace I’ve worn for almost three decades. I wear it when I play sports, and particularly sports that require some side to side movement. 

I don’t wear my brace when I ride my bike or play golf, but I do for most other active sports – it gets lots of use.

Since I’ve had this brace for years, and my knee has been bugging me for several months now (I’ve written about that here), I decided to do some checking. Maybe it was time for a new brace. 

I looked up on the internet the company that makes my brace and found some instructional videos on their website. I clicked on one that was specific for my particular brace. 

The video was about how to properly put on the brace. I almost clicked it off because I certainly knew how to put mine on. But since it was such a short video, I watched the whole thing. 

What I discovered was that I’ve been putting on my brace the wrong way for almost 30 years! 

Now the brace is sophisticated – it’s custom made to my knee – but it’s not hard to put on.  

… But I’ve been doing it wrong all these years.

I’ve been doing it wrong in the order I do up the straps. There are only four straps but they need to be secured properly and in the right order. 

I was stunned that I had been doing them up incorrectly all this time. 

The next day at hockey I followed the order from the video. I secured the strap under my knee and then the strap at the bottom of my calf. Then I moved to the strap just above my knee but didn’t secure it quite as tight as I normally would have. I finished with the strap around my thigh, done up a little looser. 

Wow, what a difference! My brace felt so much better while I played and it seemed to stay in place without moving down my leg. 

It was amazing.

Who would have thought that, for all these years, I have gotten away with doing up my brace incorrectly? Yet the brace didn’t break and it still provided some support to my knee. 

I would not have been able to play hockey or baseball or volleyball without it. I would not have been able to ski without wearing that brace … but I’ve been using it incorrectly this whole time. 

I have more to share on this in my next post, but …

Here’s the thing: It’s not that surprising that we can be doing something wrong for a long time and not really have any repercussions. This happens with some sin. We can live in a sin for a long time without seemingly suffering any ill effects from it – no repercussions, no judgements. But there will be a judgement day. As long as you are breathing, you have time to right your wrong.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you been doing wrong for a long time that you should change? Leave your comments and questions below.

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I Knew He Was Out To Get Me!

I find myself wondering what goes through people’s minds when they do something that just seems wrong.  I wonder that a lot when I drive … like the person in front of me the other day who slowed down to about 10 km/hr just to get into the other lane. What were they thinking?!

It happens often to me, so maybe it’s me and not them … or, maybe everyone is out to get me.  Ya, that’s it.  People are trying to mess with me … Ok, enough of that nonsense.

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This week I was playing hockey and a guy just smoked me (hit me really hard).  Out of nowhere he knocked me flying.  I never saw him coming.  Lying on the ice, I had that thought, “What was he thinking?  This is NOT contact hockey.”  In fact, I said it out loud a few times, “What were you thinking?!”

When I’m in my car, I never get an answer to that question.  On this occasion, I did.  He said, “You turned right into me.”  I couldn’t believe it!  Even if I did, he should’ve stopped or gone around me.  But no, he decided to run me over from behind like a freight train!

I was sprawled on the ice – not hurt, just annoyed.  As I got back to playing, I noticed the guy.  In the old days, I would have marked him and stuck it to him later in some way. But, I’m pretty chill now, and put it out of my mind.

I did notice, however, that he was pretty big, but not all that agile out there.  I figured he had a head of steam behind him and when I turned to the net, he either couldn’t stop in time, or didn’t have the maneuverability to change direction.  I got shmucked in the process.

As I kept playing, I started to notice that my knee was a little sore (not really bad, not enough to stop playing, just enough to notice).  I wondered if it was going to be worse after the game.  But I kept playing.

Later on after hockey, as my knee WAS getting worse, I realized I wouldn’t be able to do my exercises that day.  That was upsetting since I had just stopped taking one of my medications to determine if it was causing some muscle pain I’m experiencing.

This was an official trial, by the way.  A nurse had suggested I stop the drug for a week to see if the symptoms went away.  Here I was, one day in, and I wasn’t sure I would be able to exercise much for the next week.  The trial was a bust.

Hey, maybe people are trying to mess with me!  Just kidding … I started back on the drug the next day and will resume my trial when my knee is feeling a little better.

Here’s the thing:  When a few things happen, we start to wonder if there is a conspiracy out there.  Sometimes, we over spiritualize by thinking we’ve done something wrong and God is punishing us, or Satan is trying to get us.  We make up scenarios in our minds about what is happening, and they’re always bigger there.  In reality, mostly it’s just life.  It’s not an act of God, or Satan, or a conspiracy against us.  So, the key to dealing with things that happen is to depend on God THROUGH them.  Don’t point a finger, blame, or make things up; just trust Him through it.

Until Next Time!

Pastor Paul

Question:  When life happens, how do you keep yourself from creating theories in your mind? Leave your comment below.