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

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.