Mistakes Are So Easy To Make

Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

I moved from the island of Guam to Pensacola, Florida in July of 2021. I have been making a bunch of innocent mistakes since I arrived. At other times I have simply been ignorant and didn't know how something worked. Let me share some of these mistakes with you:

1. When I first arrived in Florida, I went to get my Driver's License the first week. I went downtown. The only parking I saw was on the street. Pensacola has parking meters, which are rectangular pillars along the street. They are called “Pay and Park.” Well, I had never seen anything like them before, and didn't know how they worked. I didn't see any signs, so I assumed it worked based on the honor system. So I parked my vehicle, went inside and got my Driver's License, and then returned to my car. I had been gone for about an hour and a half. So I got my pocket change and entered my license plate number into the parking meter and I paid for my parking. Then I got into my car, feeling like an honest law-abiding citizen and drove about 3 blocks until I noticed a red ticket under my windshield wiper. I was so upset that I tried to tear the ticket in half, but couldn't. Do you know that they make those tickets out of a material that won't rip? So I went home and appealed the ticket, explaining my situation. The city replied and verified that I had indeed paid my parking and this one time only cancelled the fine, which was nice.
2. I bought a Samsung mobile phone at Best Buy. I couldn't figure out for the next 2 1/2 weeks how to answer it. I tried to call Best Buy but couldn't get through. I tried to press the green dot, but that didn't work. So I went on Google to search "How to answer Samsung mobile phone." The results said to swipe upward, which I did but that didn't work either. Then I read online that I should swipe from the white circle around the green dot, but that didn't work either. People were calling me and I was so frustrated as I pressed and swiped but couldn't answer my stupid phone! So I finally drove all the way across town to Best Buy to kindly ask them how to answer my phone. I couldn't believe how simple it was, but to me it had been a big mystery. As it turns out, you have to start swiping at the green dot, and then move your finger about 3 inches toward the center of the mobile phone screen. No one had told me that, and it wasn't self explanatory. That just shows how many people do not think like other people expect them to.
3. I was at Wal-Mart shopping for some items that I needed. I like going through the self-checkout lines. The first time I did in Pensacola I was apprehensive, but when I saw how easy it was, I decided to always use the self checkout. So it was evening and I started scanning my items one by one. The barcode reader was beeping, as I passed each item over the scanner. When I had filled two bags with my items, I looked up to see how much it cost, and the message said: "This register is closed." I then looked up and saw that the glowing light was red, meaning that the lane was closed. It is green when opened. Just then I heard two women laughing behind me in the cashier line. So I got into the same cashier's line, which had about 7 people waiting. I learned a lesson about always looking for the color of the light first, before using the self checkout lane.
4. I went to McDonald's last night after Wednesday night church. I was craving a Big Mac. I got in line, placed my order, and then drove to the first window to pay for my food. The man took my money and handed me my change, but then said: "Hold on Sir!" I thought he was talking to me and that I would receive my food at the first window. I sat there for over a minute, as the cars in front drove away, and a dozen cars behind me were all waiting. A woman employee then came to the window and asked me if I needed something. I then realized that the man wasn't talking to me when he said: "Hold on Sir!," he was talking through his microphone to a customer at the order window. This is another example of how we can sometimes perceive things differently than intended, or to whom they were intended.
5. When I bought my used 2013 Honda FIT, the headlights stayed on all the time, even during the daytime. My flight was delayed from Guam because of a mechanic problem with the United Airlines' airplane. Consequently I was a day late arriving to Pensacola. Although I gave the Woodspring Suites Hotel advanced notice that I would be a day late, they greedily cancelled my entire 31-day stay which I had reserved for $55 a day. Since it was the 4th of July weekend, they hurt me to make a lot more money. They did that to Jesus (Matthew 25:34), and I told them so. God will punish them. So I ended up sleeping in Wal-Mart's parking lot for 3 nights. I was nervous the first night being in Wal-Mart's parking lot, but no one bothered me, and there were about 36 other cars in the lot too. I couldn't sleep due to jet lag, so it was a long night. My headlamps stayed on all night, so I thought they were shorted electrically. I contacted the Honda dealership where I bought the vehicle and kindly told them that it didn't matter if they or myself paid to have the headlights fixed, I just needed to get them fixed the following week. I learned then that my vehicle is an oddity, having a safety feature called "Daytime Running Lights." So it is normal for them to be on all the time. I was paranoid my first night in Wal-Mart's parking lot, with my headlights on all night...lol. I tried to sleep in my driver's seat with the vehicle off, but the discomfort from the Florida humidity made me sweat and I couldn't sleep, so I ran the vehicle with the air conditioning on all night, which only cost $5 for 8 hours of idle time. That was reasonable I thought. I had made a wrong assumption that the headlights were broken. I didn't accuse the dealership, but I couldn't help but wonder in my heart if perhaps I may have offended them a bit, because it looked like they had sold me a lemon vehicle. As you can see, I have been making a bunch of simple errors since I arrived in Florida, because it is all new to me.
6. I went into Little Caesar's restaurant last week to order just one pizza for myself. I kindly told the cashier taking my order that I wanted a pizza with Italian sausage, bacon and pepperoni. I then asked her, “Can I get the Stuffed Pepperoni Pizza with Italian sausage on it instead of pepperoni? She said, “No.” So I said, “That's okay, I'll just get another pizza!” And then I ordered my Italian sausage, bacon and pepperoni pizza. I also asked for a 20 ounce of Pepsi. I usually drink water, but I made an exception this day. So she charged me $24. I thought that seemed too high, but didn't question it. She didn't give me a receipt, but I didn't care. Now, I am  a very strange man folks, I really am. God knows that what I am about to tell you is the truth. In my heart I sincerely thought that the young woman had cheated me and pocketed the extra money. I thought that because she didn't give me a receipt, and I know one pizza and a Pepsi don't cost $24. In my heart I decided to just let her have the money, because I love people that much. I told you that I am a strange man. I was going to let her keep the money. But then when she handed me my order, there were TWO pizzas. I then realized that she had misunderstood me. When I said, “That's okay, I'll just get another pizza!,” I meant "another" as in I didn't want the first one, but she understood it to mean that I wanted BOTH pizzas. I gladly took them home and didn't say a word, gaining an extra pound...lol. This is another example of how words can be misunderstood.
7. I went to do my laundry at the hotel I am staying at. I put my coins into the washing machine and washed my clothes. I then put all my clothes into the dryer. Now, their dryers are stacked, one on top of the other. So I had put all my clothes into the bottom unit. I then inserted a couple dollars of quarters into the machine. I then went to make my settings and I pressed “Start.” Guess what happened? The top unit started spinning! I felt so stupid. My clothes were in the bottom unit. I had put my quarters into the wrong slot. So I didn't feel like removing all my clothes and putting them into the top unit, so I just inserted a couple more dollars into the top slot. I did that to let somebody else freely use the dryer, and mostly because I didn't feel like moving all my wet clothes. This is another example of innocent mistakes that we make.
8. I was at Campus Church last night. There were couple thousand people there! Pensacola Christian College (PCC) is about to start their fall season, so students are arriving already, and the church is getting full. I am learning everything the hard way folks. I am such a misfit at times and a knucklehead. After church, when the final prayer was said, there was a mad dash by the church members to exit. So I got up to exit with them. I'll never do that again! I always walk toward the Men's restroom after church, which is down the main church hallway to the right. So as all the people are leaving, I am walking perpendicular to the heavy traffic of people. Well, last night in an attempt to be courteous, I quickly moved to the right, but inadvertently moved right in front of another group of people. I heard two young ladies laughing and one excitedly said: "He's like a big kid!" Oh brother, I did it again, while trying to be courteous to the people in front of me, I was discourteous to another group that I didn't even see coming. I felt so bad. I love people and would never do anything in any way to be unkind or disrespect someone, but it happens sometimes, and I feel so bad when it happens. This is an example of how we sometimes do something with good intentions, but it gets us into trouble from some unseen thing that we didn't expect.

Those are several misunderstandings, innocent blunders and awkward moments I have had since I arrived in Pensacola on July 2nd. These were all innocent small things, even humorous, but sometimes misunderstandings can cause lethal or eternal consequences. Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” People make innocent mistakes every day that cost lives. 

Here is an article I recently wrote about two police detectives in San Diego who were killed, and a woman when she innocently turned into oncoming highway traffic. God only knows how many planes have fallen from the sky because of someone's innocent mistake. It is a part of being human, we are all prone to make mistakes, blunders, forget and become much more vulnerable in unfamiliar territory. Pensacola is all new to me, so I have to be careful and on-guard.

How much more serious is it when people misunderstand the Gospel? The internet is a minefield of deadly false teachings and deceptions. John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” The Devil's favorite weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born-again. I highly recommend that you read the following wonderful defense of the Gospel by Michael P. Bowen...

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