Skipped A Step

Brent Allen once said, ~Life doesn’t come with an instruction manual. The best times are the times we almost get it right.~ Let me ask you this question, do you think life would be so much easier if the moment each one of us were born we’re automatically provided with an instructional manual to not only help us figure out life, but understand it as well. For it’s certainly a thought provoking situation indeed that once the moment we’re born we been given a book of instructions in being able to possibly help deal with and/or figure out the do’s/don’ts of life without having to experience any of the unfortunate mishaps/mistakes that are considered painful, disappointing, embarrassing, humiliating, etc. Thinking about it further, you can’t help but imagine what sort of instructions, standards/guidelines, troubleshooting ideas/tips, etc. are in there in regard to the following 3 areas: friends, matters of the heart, and spiritual life.

Without a doubt, having an instruction manual at your disposal from the time we’re born is deemed an interesting concept. True, on paper, it may be seemingly plausible to have in our hands a manual in which we’re instructed to follow step by step in order to make/establish a friendship, especially one that ends up becoming lifelong. Of course, reading a manual such as this growing up to avoid/remove the don’ts and follow the do’s would have been very handy during our childhood. In reality though, actually applying and following those same step by step instructions of making a friend can most definitely be thrown out the window, in a manner of speaking. Why? It’s an absolute wildcard to the point where you’ll always feel like you’ve somehow missed reading a step. Essentially, there are in actuality no specific guidelines/steps to adhere to and it’s one of the main reasons how friendships are so unpredictably made.

As I said before, you can’t help but imagine being born and automatically given a book of instructions in order to help deal with and/or figure out the do’s/don’ts of life without having to experience any of the unfortunate mishaps/mistakes that’s considered to be painful, disappointing, embarrassing, humiliating, etc. I think it’s safe to say we all would want/would like to have that quintessential instructional manual pertaining to matters of the heart. Granted, it would be an ideal situation to refer to the love/true section of one’s instruction manual of life and follow the steps in dealing with the failure of utter heartbreak or the success of a strong, worthwhile relationship. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works and you can’t just skip ahead, so to speak, when dealing with the roller coaster of emotions you’re enduring while healing from a broken heart or figuring out if you’re taking the leap of faith with that guy/girl in question.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, ~All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.~ If you think about it, when we’re struggling spiritually we have the opportunity to open the instruction manual representing one’s own bible in order to “troubleshoot” problems we oftentimes face and struggle with that leave us absolutely spiritually scratching our heads because we’re feeling lost. Essentially, His advice gives us the determination to honestly challenge us to focus on Him and prove ourselves worthy in our walk with God by taking the necessary steps for a far better spiritual life. What it primarily comes down to is focusing on the most important spiritual manual that has all the right instructions to read and follow rather than the world’s instructional manual.

Annette Christie said, ~No one’s life has an instructional manual. That’s the best damn thing about it. I choose and you choose and everyone makes choices that gave these butterfly effects on everything else - the results are either this exquisite ballet or an avant garde multimedia melee.~ In retrospect, an instructional manual comes with additional parts like screws and nuts that a person may or may not use if any are left over, which is a lot like life. For the most part, those screws/nuts represent individuals in our lives who’ll be there to help keep you stable in case you need it knowing how life can leave us for all intents and purposes either wobbly or uneven to where we’re left leaning off to one side. In the end, we’re all doing our best in figuring out how to put together the life we’re living with the parts that may/may not be useful and whether or not we’ve skipped a step, it’s hopefully a decision we can actually live with.