Learn from other people’s cuts

Happy Monday to our CFC Family;

Back in June, I wrote a devotional called “Injured by a Thousand Cuts,” where I shared a lesson learned after a full day of cutting the grass. As you may recall, I mentioned how I had noticed a series of tiny, painless scratches on my hand—nothing major, just faint surface marks. The following week, while mowing once again, one of those small scratches turned painful on the now sensitive area of skin. That’s when I finally discovered the culprit: a tiny sliver of metal hidden on the lawn mower handle. It had been there the whole time, slowly scraping away at my skin, little by little.

The life lesson? That’s often how emotional pain works. It’s not usually caused by one major wound, but by the slow buildup of smaller ones—off hand comments, dismissive tones, subtle jabs. Things that may seem insignificant in the moment, but over time, they wear us down. Comments and situations that may have started as a minor irritation can eventually cut deep if left unaddressed.

Now, let’s move this devotional along about two months.

While our family was still away on holidays in Newfoundland, I received a text from our daughter who had flown home earlier that week for work. The text had no words….just a picture of her hand.

There it was. The same scratches, the same spot, using the same mower. (see above picture comparisons)

Aliyah had decided to help us out by cutting the grass while we were still away.  Fully aware of my story from back in June, she still ended up with the exact same scratches.

A few short minutes later in her text, she followed it up with a message that simply said:

“This sounds like a follow-up devotional.”

And she was right!  She had already drawn the lesson herself! She hadn’t listened to the warning of the lawn mower handle. Not because she didn’t believe me, but because, like so many of us, she just never thought about it! That is, until she saw her hand and the scratches looked just like mine.

And in that moment, she realized something we all eventually face: “Sometimes wisdom doesn’t truly sink in until we feel the consequence for ourselves.”

Truth is, how many times do we do the exact same thing that we are warned not to do?

• We hear good advice.

• We witness the pain in someone else’s story.

• We even feel that still, small nudge from God.

But we still press forward, thinking we’ll be the exception.

Proverbs 27:12 puts it plainly:

“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.”

Whether it’s in our relationships, our habits, our attitudes, or our words, how often have we ignored the signs, only to end up wounded in ways we were warned about?

And yet… God is gracious.  He doesn’t shame us for our mistakes. He doesn’t say, “I told you so.” He meets us in our pain and gently says, “Let Me show you what this was about.”

He doesn’t waste the wound. He uses it to grow us, just like He did with my daughter.

Her suggestion for this devotional wasn’t just a clever idea, it was proof that the lesson had taken root! God had used her experience (and yes, even her mistake) to deepen her understanding and build wisdom. That’s worth celebrating.

Let’s be people who don’t always have to learn things the hard way. Let’s listen to the wisdom of those who’ve gone before us. But even when we do get scratched, let’s allow God to teach us through it.

And let’s be humble and willing enough to pass that wisdom on to someone else. Because sometimes, the follow-up story is the most powerful part.

Proverbs 19:20 tells us to,

“Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.”

Now… if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a file to find. It’s time to take care of that tiny piece of metal on the lawn mower, before someone else learns the hard way!

Question: What are some hard lessons you had to learn even though you were warned by others who went through the same thing?

Have a great week and we’ll see you Sunday!

Pastor Dan

Christian Fellowship Church

417 Hanover Street

Steinbach, MB  R5G 0G0

Church office: 204-326-2228

http://christianfellowshipchurch.ca

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