Short Cuts

Have you ever taken a short cut, only to find yourself in big trouble? A map may have shown the route to be 1 mile shorter but it took 45 minutes longer due to the condition of the road. Often the road you know is better than the way you don’t know.

My wife and I were in Kenya, Africa for a year of voluntary service (1992-93) with the Africa Inland Mission. I remember taking a carload of African students to help out at an orphanage. On the way there, a short cut was available instead of taking the longer route on pavement. What a mistake that was! We became stuck in mud. The mud and water under the car got into the engine and even into the rotary distributor (remember those?). This was about 26 years ago. When I took the distributor cap off to clean the contacts, I inadvertently dropped the contact piece that carried the electric spark. In the mud and the oncoming darkness it was fruitless to search for it. Night was coming. We were in a somewhat remote, wild animal territory. What now? A light in the distance indicated a home was not far away. The owner came as requested and suggested extracting the core from a flashlight battery to fashion a replacement contact. It worked! With students pushing and I at the wheel we made it to the orphanage. Praise the Lord for a timely rescue!!

So much for short cuts. They are even more damaging when it comes to the quality of workmanship or integrity in relationships.

 

Henry Wiebe