What Catching My Garage on Fire Taught Me about Course Correction

          As a child I had a fascination with science, which always interesting to me because I hated math class.  I was always under the impression that the two went hand-in-hand however in my life they never did.  Maybe it was the chemistry or physics but for whatever reason science excited me and I loved learning about it.  Perhaps was the award I won in fifth grade at our annual science fair for doing a project that was well beyond my years and knowledge (although in all honesty it came straight out of our textbook)!  For whatever reason, I loved science and doing experiments that helped me learn more about the world.

One afternoon I decided that I would try an experiment in our garage using a candle, a plastic cup, and rubbing alcohol.  (As a parent I now look back on this experience as one of the most foolish things I ever did as a child).  I began by putting the rubbing alcohol in the cup and lighting the candle.  My thought was that the wax would drip from the candle over the rubbing alcohol and seal it in the cup.  After a couple of sparks, the experiment began to work and I thought I was proving myself right, but then something changed and reminded me why I was a child in the garage and not on a television show doing science experiments.  A piece of the wick broke loose and fell into the cup lighting it and a large section of our wood paneling on the wall on fire.  I quickly tried to think of ways to put out the fire without my parents knowing but then realized the fire was spreading so I yelled for my mom to come and help me.  As she rushed out the door the first concern was getting the spreading fire out, while the second (which I was dreading more) would be the punishment to follow.  We were able to get the fire out and then I had to tell my dad about my “experiment” gone bad when he got home.  I remember thinking that I would receive the punishment of a lifetime because there was (and still is a nice black mark on the garage wall from this); however the result was drastically different.  My dad encouraged my creativity and liked my initiative in trying an experiment.  I explained to him that I could have burnt the entire house down, leaving us homeless, which he understood but yet he encouraged my creativity.  Later I did get grounded for a significant amount of time but that seemed minor in the grand scheme of things.

      This experience however taught me a couple interesting lessons about life.  The first is never to mix any type of alcohol with an open flame.  But the second is that I should have paid more attention to the few “sparks” that popped out of the cup at the start of the experiment rather than ignoring them and catching a portion of the wall on fire.  This past week we challenged our students to look for warning signs in their lives to deter them from pain and hardship.  I understand that not all suffering or pain comes with a warning sign but many times there are small things that could catch our attention if we were looking for them.  Think about your own life and ask yourself what would have happened if I was looking for a warning sign?  Then think about the question, what would have happened if I turned around when I saw it?  Each person and situation will be different but the reality of potentially avoiding pain, suffering, or hardship should present itself.

So my question for you today is, “What will you gain if you change direction in certain areas of your life?”  As you wrestle with this question think about the choices you have made in your life that have taken you to the path you are on.  Were there warning signs along the road?  Were there opportunities to make a course correction on your journey?  Rather than spending time beating yourself up about past decisions, is there a way to make a shift on your path now?  If so I challenge you to be bold enough to take it, making your course correction and hopefully avoiding pain, suffering, or heartache in the future.

            Over the next few weeks we will continue this journey through our Road Signs series which is designed to have us look at the road signs of life and provide students and their families with questions for discussion that connect to the lessons we are presenting weekly.  Our hope is that you will join us on this journey as we seek to navigate the road of our lives laid out before us while seeking to be attentive to God’s directions.