I blew it!

I had an opportunity today and I completely blew it. It wasn't intentional, but I missed a real opportunity to serve someone other than myself. Allow me to explain...

Sundays are very busy for us. We get up early and go to Sunday school and morning worship service. We usually get home about 12:30 or 1:00. By the time we change clothes and have lunch, the clock is quickly pushing 2:00. Then we go back to church for the evening service (we leave the house at 5:30). Therefore anything that needs to get done around the house has to get done between 2 and 5. Not much time when all things are considered.

Today I really needed to mow my lawn. The time I had was sufficient and wasn't really an issue. That is until Mr. Murphy and his law decided to show up. I made 2 passes with my lawn mower and it decided to break. It wasn't a major problem, but there would be no more mowing until it was repaired. 45 minutes later I was back in business. Once again I made a few more passes when my next door neighbor flagged me down. She said she needed to mow her lawn and was having trouble getting her mower started. She asked if I might help her get it running. Of course I agreed. But before I could help her with the mower, she also wanted to fill me in on some personal problems (she and I speak frequently, so it wasn't unusual for her to talk like this). Her husband has been ill recently and spent some time in the hospital. There were some other personal things she shared as well. She was also telling me that the lawn was getting to be a bit too much to handle. She's in her early 60's and the lawn is fairly large and is not flat. After our chat I quickly and easily got the mower started (she just wasn't pulling the cord hard enough to crank the engine). By this time it's nearly 4:00 and I had virtually none of my own lawn mowed. I went back to my work, but couldn't help but wonder how I might be able to help her. I considered mowing my lawn and then going over to do hers, but that would have meant missing our evening church service. In my puny little mind I didn't see how I could mow both lawns and go to church too. I had a decision to make and in the end I made the wrong one. I opted to mow my own lawn and go to church. It wasn't long before Tami offered the solution I should have thought of, but didn't. She said I should have gone straight over, mowed the neighbors lawn, gone to church and mowed my own lawn tomorrow after work. This was a classic "Why didn't I think of that?" moment. I could just kick myself! I didn't mow my own lawn first out of thoughtlessness or selfishness. I just didn't consider all the options. I feel terribly guilty. I wanted to help my neighbor, but I didn't. There was a way to accomplish everything I wanted to, but my simple mind didn't allow it to happen. Opportunity lost!

I learned several things today: Ask my wife when I am experiencing a crisis of decision. She had the solution all along, but I asked her about it too late. Think outside the box when presented with these types of situations. There's more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak. Finally, love thy neighbor as yourself.

I didn't do any of these today. Thankfully the mowing season is just beginning and there will be many other opportunities to help my neighbor. I'll do better next time.