As the days are getting shorter, when I come to the sunroom later in the day, I need a light to see to read or write. Since I don’t really like to turn on the overhead light, I looked for another option. I found a book light on a string that I had bought many years ago. Unfortunately, as you might expect, the batteries were dead.

Thinking changing them as going to be a simple task, I found the place for the batteries and the lever you push to open the chamber. However, there was one obstacle! There was a tiny little screw that had to be removed first. So the next step was to find a tiny little screwdriver. Fortunately, I had one of those gadgets where you have a hammer and different sizes of screwdrivers nested in the handle.

Finding the right size, I tried to unscrew it, but it would not turn. After a few tries, I gave up. For several days I would attempt to loosen it, each time with no success. Then this morning, as you might have already guessed, it dawned on me that I had been turning it the wrong way! Left to loosen, right to tighten.

Now I could see what kind of batteries were needed and make the change. That simple task was completed within a few minutes. Now I had power for when I need the light.

How often in life do we complicate things by turning the wrong way. Doing the right thing may be hard, so we choose the simple path, which may not always be bad, but might not be God’s best for us.

Fixing things after we have made a wrong turn is not always easy or even possible. But we can turn to a God who will forgive us no matter the outcome of our actions. Jonah, in spite of his wrong turn, said this about the Lord.

 I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. (Jonah 4:2b NLT)