What Was I Thinking?

I had journeyed about an hour-and-a-half from home to do some waterfall photography. The location, somewhat remote, was one I had not been to before. I hiked a ways and finally got to where I could hear the water pounding the rocks on its way downhill. The well-worn path wound up going across the creek at the top of the falls. But there was no worthwhile photograph from that position. However, I saw what I thought would be an excellent place to shoot from at the base of the waterfall. While there was no trail to where I wanted to go, I thought I saw how I could get down the steep, leaf-covered embankment underneath some rhododendron shrubs. With my camera securely packed away and holding my tripod in one hand, I used the other hand to grab onto rhododendron branches as I worked my way down the slope. I was about halfway to the bottom when my feet went out from under me, gravity wrenched my feeble grip from a branch, and my body now blazed a new trail to the bottom through the leaves and over rocks and roots. When I finally stopped, I took a few moments to assess the situation. Although my camera equipment was undamaged, my blue jeans were the worse for wear and my arms were scraped and bruised. And I remember thinking, “Well, that was pretty stupid, Norman.”

You may remember the story Jesus told in the fifteenth chapter of Luke. After a young man insisted he be allowed to go out on his own, his father liquidated enough of his assets to fund his son’s wishes. So, what does this guy do? Go out and get his MBA? Set up his own consulting business? Buy a couple thousand shares of Hebrew National? Nope. In fairly short order, he blows what amounts to a small fortune. Then, with no money and no friends, this man was forced to take the lowest-of-low jobs for a Jewish person: feeding pigs. And he was using food scraps he wished he could eat. He may have even said out loud, “What was I thinking?”

For me, fortunately no bones were broken. The blue jeans could be cleaned and my scrapes and bruises healed. The young man in Jesus’ story made some unwise choices. But, because of his father’s mercy, he was able to have another chance.

I certainly want to learn from my mistakes and bad decisions, keeping those “What-was-I-thinking?” moments few and far between.