In a huge hurry, I rushed to cross over California Highway 1, between speeding vehicles, to our parked Toyota Sienna on the other side.
Preoccupied, I didn't spot loose gravel, failed to remember the number one rule of hiking, keep an eye on the ground.
Suddenly, my feet flew out from under me, my knees bashed into the hardened blacktop, then the camera (around my neck) and my chest hit.
Lastly my rigid arms and hands smashed into the highway and my neck was jerked forward wrenching it, giving me a headache.
But instinctive action and my camera had stopped me from getting a concussion.
Today, I still have wide scars on my knees and vivid bruising. My knees look like Rudolph's nose.
But thankfully the pain and ache are gone.
And the broken Cannon camera.
Yes, a dangerous, though not serious, accident
because of haste (makes waste!) and lack of attention.
A bad fall.
So?
What's intriguing is this morning we were listening to a speaker talk of their efforts to help malnourished children in Nicaragua, and how they were going to conduct a silent auction of donated items.
Suddenly, I remembered my expensive telephoto lens back in my van.
What a blessing that would be for someone who could use it. Then the funds would go to the orphans in Nicaragua.
What a way to turn my bad accident, a negative experience into a blessing for those impoverished children.
I hurried out to my van and got the large lens and caps.
(Oops, hurrying again).
A blessed morning; not only did I hear great encouraging talks
and rousing folk music about how to turn negatives into positives,
I learned specifically how to turn a fall into a rise.
Yes, How to fall into blessing.
Of course, this was a minor accident, and my giving a lens an easy action.
But it's a new start for me.
Don't waste your accidents, disappointments, and heartaches.
Look and reflect what you might do to turn your negatives around
for even a little good for others.
In more severe, more tragic events,
it would be much harder to
fall into blessing.
Yet even in the worst of tragedies, there are victims who have turned
their horrific experiences into blessings for others.
Even in great loss,
Even in concentration camps,
Even when stricken with cancer.
How about us?
Especially when dealing with daily irritations, minor problems--
the things that are so easy to complain about and to worry over.
Are we going to focus on regret, worry,
and loss or turn
bad events into blessings for others?
In the Light,
Daniel Wilcox
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