Don't be afraid to be wrong when you're right!

Friday August 31 2012:

Mark 3:25.  “A home divided against itself is doomed.”

After forty-six years of marriage, I hope I have learned to be wrong when I’m right.

I had a very dear Uncle who was one of my spiritual mentors and heroes for as long as I can remember.  I remember when he returned from the Second World War, he was the most handsome man I had ever seen especially in his uniform.  I think I was about five or six years old and very impressionable.  Being from a Mennonite family, he was regarded as a rebel to the faith.  He served in the medical core and so he was able to justify his service by saving lives instead of destroying them. 

We loved and admired him because he was a kind of “legend” in our family.  He was not afraid to do what he thought was right and he was not bound by the rules and regulations of old encumbrances and legalities.  When he matured and aged, he wore a huge cowboy hat and played the dobro and guitar and sang country-flavored songs. He was also gifted with a generous heart that never stopped giving.

Several years ago he was diagnosed with a brain tumor that became inoperable.  His last word of advice to some of us who were with him near the end was, “Don’t be afraid to be wrong when you’re right.”  I’m finding, life becomes easier as I attempt to follow this gem of wisdom.  I wish I had realized this many years ago.  Even when we don’t agree, if it doesn’t compromise our beliefs or convictions, it is really quite painless to be quiet and stop the process of creating distress.

Heavenly Father, I am so thank full for your acceptance of me even with all my faults.  Help me to let the unimportant things become just that, unimportant!  Let me be more humble and less argumentative.  Help me not to dwell on having my own way but being more empathetic towards others.  Let me be someone who displays positive thoughts and words of encouragement so that others may see your love through me.  In Jesus name, Amen.