March 7, 2026 - I Was Wrong

     It has been a while since I have written a blog.  Life has been busier than normal.  Vacations are great but catching up from them sometimes isn’t easy.
 
     I began the day with the sun easing up over the horizon.  There were just a few clouds and the Lord painted a marvelous picture of His creation.  I don’t guess that you would believe that I like to experience the daybreak of a new day, would you? 
 
     I enjoy writing.  It is one of the things that calms my heart.  Putting things down in black and white also helps me to see things that I may miss when those things are just thoughts in my head.
 
     Many of you know that when we redid our driveway the small stone wall along about 90 feet of the driveway was pushed up on the grass.  It has been that way for almost two years.
 
     I have had several estimates to have the wall redone.  They have ranged from $3000 to $28,000.  I am not joking about the $28,000. 
 
     I had the $3000 guy scheduled last year, but he couldn’t get to it until last fall.  Between the time that he agreed to come and the fall he had a heart attack.  Building a stone wall doesn’t seem like the best way to recover from a heart attack!
 
     I made a feeble attempt when this all began to build the wall myself.  That’s when I got the estimates.
 
     I decided late Friday afternoon that I would put a focused effort to see if I could build the wall myself.
 
     Because of the difficulty I have had with plumbing, over the years I have said, “If I don’t make it to heaven, I will be a plumber in hell.”
 
     I was wrong.  If I don’t make it to heaven, I will be a stone mason in hell for eternity. 
 
     It may take me a long time and lots of frustration when it comes to plumbing, but eventually I usually get it fixed.  If not, I know a plumber.
 
     I am not sure that I will ever get the stone wall looking acceptable to me or to anyone else for that matter.
 
     I thought about the five worst jobs that I would have in hell, in this order. 

1. Stone mason
2. Plumber
3. Mechanic (I have said that the closest thing I have ever been to a mechanic was to know Teresa’s dad’s phone number.  Pappy was a great mechanic.)
4. Cook.  If something happens to Teresa I will need to move closer to Texas Roadhouse. 
5. Daycare worker.  Though there will be no daycares in hell.

 
     I would appropriately and quickly be fired as a worker in any of those five jobs.
 
     What are the most important three-word phrases in the English language?  “God is love” or “Jesus loves me” would be at the top of the list.  “I love you” would be near the top.  Those are easy to say, well at least most of the time.
 
     Not too far behind would be one of the most difficult things for us to say.  “I was wrong.”  The willingness to admit to yourself and to say to someone else “I was wrong” might save a lot of relationships.
 
     I preached a sermon sometime ago on the one we call the prodigal son.  The young man took his inheritance and squandered it in the far country.  When the money was gone he ended up slopping the hogs, the lowest you could get as a Jew.
      
     Jesus says in the story that the young man “came to himself.”  He realized his sin.  The concise three-point sermon I preached was this:
 
     Until we are willing to say “I was wrong” we will never be right with ourselves.
 
     Until we are willing to say “I was wrong” we will never be right with others.   He had to go to his dad and admit that he was wrong.
 
     Most importantly, until we are willing to say “I was wrong” we will never be right with God.
 
     It is one of the sermons that has stuck in my mind over the years.  I have had to apply it personally more times than I would like to admit.  The admission of “I was wrong” is never easy.  It cuts to the core of our fallen nature.
 
     But it is one of God’s ways of redemption. 
 
     Like the prodigal son, it is often to those closest to us whom we have the most difficulty saying, “I was wrong.” 
 
     Lord, help me be willing to humble myself, before You and with others and be willing to say, “I was wrong.”  It is part of Your redemptive plan through which You often bring miracles.
 
     It’s a beautiful day.  I may give that wall one more chance.