Don't Jump The Gun

Well, we all have these moments where we get so excited to finally get what we think we want that we 'jump the gun' so to speak. We act before thinking of the consequences, we say things without carefully considering our words, and send messages and emails to friends only to suggest something far out there even though we mean well.

Today was one of those days where I caught myself jumping the gun instead of just sitting back and carefully examining my thoughts and actions before saying or doing them. Sometimes it would be better if I would just keep my mouth shut and let the Lord work things out on His time so that the result would be much better and more accomplished rather than thinking 'Ah, it will be OK if I just wing it' or 'I think I can handle it until later' or whatever other excuse I can come up with. Some are so out there, they would be considered irrational, illogical, or in layman's terma 'just plain stupid'.

Today, I did just that. I have been yearning to get my truck out of the shop. It's not that my truck is any better than the vehicle I was borrowing, it's just that I prefer the comforts of my own vehicle. Well, I was just nearly ecstatic when I went to check on the truck today expecting NOT to bring it home only to hear the mechanic say 'Well, darlin' I've got you all fixed up!". He mentioned a steering issue, but I thought it would be just from needing an alignment (which is what I had planned to do for my truck prior to the rear-end going out on me on the side of the road). Yes, the steering was shaky, but as I thought - it needs an alignment and that might solve the problem. I also noticed it was riding 'rougher' than usual. Again, I just thought to myself - "I have been driving a minivan and now I've gone back to the truck, I just need to get re-adjusted to it." I was right, right up until I rounded the sharp curve next to a cemetery about half a mile from my house and my steering shook violently, and kept shaking violently until I just came to a near complete stop in the middle of the highway (this is not recommended as this highway is heavily used by fully loaded Tyson 18-wheelers carrying anything from feed, to finished product, to live birds on fully loaded trailers - in short; they ain't stopping on a dime!) When I stopped - the shaking stopped. I continued on to the house and I was disgusted with my own stupidity. I failed to listen to the mechanic and now I am having to reap the consequences of it. Getting a loaner vehicle may be more difficult this go around because:

1. My aunt's truck has gone out on her - I have literally JUST GIVEN HER VAN BACK TO HER.
2. She don't like driving the big truck - it's just too much truck for her she says.
3. My parents will need their vehicles for work
4. I can't drive my dad's '78 standard and the engine isn't reliable as it has difficulty starting - yet he claims it's still a good vehicle. (insert rolling eyes emoticon here)

Right now, I'm just praying that my stupidity doesn't leave me stranded on the side of the road like it did the last time. Tomorrow I'll be limping my truck around, tomorrow I'll be praying long and hard each time I get in my truck, tomorrow I may be IN the cemetery - but I hope not on that last thought.

But, so often we 'jump the gun' on God's commands. We know He will solve our problems in due time, but so often when we think we've solved it ourselves and try to go on our merry little way - we end up not much better than before. We get fickle and antsy about any given situation and boom we go only to end up realizing we have gone too soon. Either we find ourselves not prepared - or in my recent case - not completely repaired. More often we should allow God to help us fully prepare and repair us before trying to move forward. If we go forward too soon, we leave things broken that still need fixing thinking we can still accomplish our goals. It's hard to drive a vehicle with an iffy steering. It's hard to walk the straight path if your reeling and jerking in 4 different directions simultaneously and you think you're fine because you've gone too soon. To get prepared, you might first need to get repaired. Only Jesus can repair us, and make us usable again for His glory. We just have to let him finish working on us first even though God says He may be done with us in one area, but directs us to another area that also needs healing. He must be allowed to finish us completely, if we don't, we may find ourselves hoping for best while expecting the worst and in the middle of it all, we end up stranded on the side of the road.

Don't jump the gun, stay around a bit longer and let God fix you completely if you would just let Him.