There you are skipping down the road in time to the sunshine, oblivious to everything except the sunshine and your agenda and then it happens…I am thinking about this story because it is pouring rain outside today and that makes me think of water and….well ……you know how the mind jumps from subject to subject…at least mine does…but where was I..? oh yes skipping down the road.. in time to the sunshine…

Actually, this story was not about what happened to me. It is about what happened to someone else because of me and water.

I would love to paint the beautiful sunny ocean scene and forget about the real water in this story and the consequences of my actions.. but sigh… I can’t. It is one of those little tales I have told over and over ….exposing my guilt in the process but also the powerful lesson I learned.

The date was Friday the 13th…If you know me well you know I don’t pay any attention to that date more than any other, but I was at Boylston Home at this time and so the girls I was caring for had, of course, heard all the tales about this supposedly ominous date. As they were getting dressed they told me the tales. I told them hogwash and headed downstairs. I managed to catch my foot on the stairwell and slid down the last 4 steps. They of course hooted and asserted I should pay attention to the date. I logically dismissed it as my carelessness. Some other things happened too and I dismissed them, but I had more to learn about carelessness and lack of diligence and that is where the water comes in… just in case you were wondering what all this had to do with water…

So the girls were happily shooed out the door to school and I was in the kitchen chatting with the other worker on duty with me. I noticed a mug on the counter that needed to be put in the sink so swiped it quickly toward the sink being silly.  In the process, I emptied the half-full contents of water out across the kitchen floor. I looked at Jen, my coworker, who was shaking her head laughing at me because… you know.. the date and all…

I, in disgust at myself, said to her. “Really? That is ridiculous! I am not going to clean that up. It’s just one too many things gone wrong this morning!” She smiled and walked out of the kitchen. It was my responsibility to deal with. I did not.

An hour later, 3 of we childcare workers were all standing talking in the kitchen and my boss, who was over 6 feet tall, came happily waltzing into the kitchen… in time to the sunshine….hit that water and nosedived across the kitchen floor! Yes, ladies and gentlemen this REALLY happened! He gingerly picked himself up and looked around pointing and saying “there’s water all over the floor! Where did that come from?” We all stood completely stunned for a moment knowing this was not a laughing matter. He went down very hard! I swooped for the cloth and got the water cleaned up… The rest of the day the verse “be sure your sin will find you out.” (Num 32:26) came to mind. The context of this verse is when Israel promised to help their brothers and Moses told them they had better follow through or they would be held accountable for it by God…fit my situation. I did not follow through on a responsibility and I caused someone else to suffer as a result. God remembers these things.