Facing the Wrong Way

Have you ever done something backwards or sideways? You did everything according to directions, but it just didn’t work out the right way?

Many years ago, dad and mom visited us in New Mexico. The first thing that came out of dad’s mouth was, “Eugene, get me a compass, and mount it on the dash board!”

“What’s up, dad?”

Mom volunteered to help with the story. “Dad turned the….”

“I’ll tell my own goofy story, Verna.” And in an aggravated mood, dad told me how in Arizona, he followed the map exactly as planned. But he didn’t know that, at one point, he had the map sideways and drove north for an hour when he should have gone east. “I don’t like going the wrong direction, and I lost two hours. Let’s go get that compass – now, before I forget.”

I laughed about it, but dad forgave me; he knew I wasn’t mocking him. Then I reminded him of what he taught me: laughing at our mistakes is less painful than getting upset. Dad grimaced.

Another time, I was overseeing a building renovation project. One of our electricians was new in the electrical field, and was perplexed. “I don’t get this.” he exclaimed. “It just doesn’t look right.”

I reviewed his engineering drawing, then looked at the wall he was wiring. “Joe, you’re looking the wrong way. Turn around, and check it out.”

Joe turned, looked at the opposite wall, then the print, back to the wall, uttered a few unrepeatable words, then, “Sorry, man.”

“You’re okay, Joe. I’m glad you stopped to get help. It’s always easier to ask for help than to correct an error.”

I’ve made directional mistakes, too. In January of 2015, Carol and I visited my brother Paul and his wife, Linda, in Florida. One afternoon we went sight-seeing in another town. On the way back, late at night, I made a wrong turn. Getting off the freeway at the next exit, I made what I thought was the correct turn. But it put me back on the same highway – going the opposite direction. Trying to correct my direction several more times didn’t help. I didn’t know the freeway layout, and just couldn’t seem to get it right.

A little frustrated, I asked Carol if I would ever get off this road. But dad’s words came back to me: it’s less painful to laugh than to get upset. Then the words of a song by the Kingston Trio in 1959 came to mind, and I began singing the chorus. It was about a man who didn’t have money to get off the subway in the Boston mass transit system:

“Did he ever return? No, he never returned, and his fate is still unlearned.

He may ride forever ‘neath the streets of Boston as the man who never returned.”

Carol and I began laughing, and we eventually found our way back to Paul’s house.

Well, I found out that I still make directional mistakes. Our television developed a problem, so we bought another one – an inexpensive 32-inch flat screen. I programmed it and made sure everything worked properly. But it wouldn’t change channels when I pressed the channel button.

I contacted the company, and they gave me some information. Situation solved … or so I thought. It worked better, but not the way it should.

Carol, my wonderful helper, said, “You did something wrong.”

It may not surprise you to know that husbands don’t like to hear those words. They may be correct, but we still don’t like to hear them.

After talking with an expert in the field, I realized that the remote controller couldn’t talk with the television because I had the receiver box pointing the wrong way. My precious was right: I did something wrong. With a pink face accompanying a bit of embarrassment, I turned the box around and the system worked perfectly.

Sometimes we humans face problems in life because we are turned the wrong way. We might be stubborn, arrogant, or ignorant, and won’t listen to wise counsel. Those attitudes prevent the situations from being corrected.

But if we relax, let go of our pride, and seek counsel, God will help us figure things out. Studying the Bible can enable us to adjust our attitude, then the Lord can guide us. The Psalms and Proverbs are loaded with wisdom. Start there. What did I tell the electrician? “It’s always easier to ask for help than to correct an error.”