The Damage of Carelessness

It's been a rough beginning to my spring/summer mowing season, but it comes with an important lesson.

Let me start by saying:  I love getting on my riding mower after being inside at work all day.  It means I get to partake in the beautifying of my acreage of land.  The problem that has occurred this spring is because of the trees my husband has planted around the outskirts of our land in order to eventually have a wind block around our home.

The first mow of the season, unknown to me, I took down two baby pines that had been planted in the fall. We discovered their demise after my second mow when I mowed down fifteen newly planted trees that looked like sticks in the ground.  In my defense, miscommunication about their whereabouts led to their destruction.

So, in order to prevent any more mishaps, my dear husband mowed around each tree leaving only small tuffs of grass around them.  Certainly I could get it right now.

Nope.  I carelessly took out four more on my next mow session.  After finishing a section, I looked back over my work and thought I missed a section of grass and without realizing it, took them out.  I was crushed at my ignorance and carelessness.

So, our next prevention plan included stakes in the ground painted neon yellow at the top.  There is no way I could take out any more trees now, right?  Wrong.  We ran out of stakes, leaving nine trees with out a stake.  Yes, you guessed right.  I mowed all of them down, except one.

In my search for each tree, with hopes that somehow I might be able to salvage the damage I had done, it struck me.  We may not set out to cause deep wounds toward others, but it only takes seconds to speak a word that causes severe damage to the receiver.  It takes a sincere apology and a willingness to forgive for the Lord to heal what our careless words can do to others.

May we put a guard around our mouths and seek to “Let our speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that we will know how we should respond to each person.” (Colossians 4:6)