What if your greatest mistake turns into your greatest masterpiece?!

                                                                

I just got back from an over 22-hour trip home. I arrived safely and thrived abundantly from a wonderful trip. You know...the trip I don't want to go on. 😕 This one was great. Just like all the other ones. Life lesson to me. Go. Experience. Step out even if it's way out. You might enjoy yourself when you get out! 

You're living the dream when a dream trip shocks you to exceed your highest dreams. You won't know if you don't go. A friendly reminder or kick-in-the-pants for me!

On the flight home, I dream of home. My bed. My pillow. My dog. My grandkids. There will be 3 weeks of dust piled high as will be the mountains piled high of dirty clothes to sort, wash and dry. The empty refrigerator. The major grocery store run. And...do I really, actually have to cook for myself? And for him? Make my own bed? That's a lot to ask...

Still, there is no place like home.  

I have many sweet memories from my trip. I learned one particularly sweet lesson: If you eat all those chocolate croissants followed by double scoops of gelato, you will have your work cut out for you upon your return. I expected the consequences. The results measured up and out. Indeed, each bite was well worth its weight!  

I was surprised by another lesson. It hit me rather randomly. It came unexpectedly as we traveled to the beautiful Italian city of Pisa. There we marveled at the world-renowned "Leaning Tower." I didn't anticipate we would visit this iconic site. I didn't anticipate the life lesson it brought to me...or rather the life lesson God brought to me while I was there.

This tower was built in 1173 by an unconfirmed architect. At the time, who would want to claim that fame? It was a flawed design from the start. The tower possibly started off okay until seeing all was not okay. The completion of the third floor was revealing. Embarrassing. That is when the soft clay and sandy subsoil became too apparent to deny. The tilt was too obvious to overlook. It was too late to make a change. Oops. 

What was the builder to do? Cease proceeding with half a tower? Continue on in disgrace? All options seemed to lead to public rebuke and ridicule.

If we could only relay today to Pisano or Diotisalui, don't worry! All's gonna be okay. Better than okay. Your tower broadcasts your mistakes but entices all to come and see. To marvel. It is precisely because of your mistake that 5 million tourists come to your town every year. To view your tower leans and all!  Your city will one day thank you. Your mistake-filled tower will bring you applause.

You will learn when construction has to be stopped for 100 years due to military conflict, the soft soil will have time to compress and become stable. Another architect down-the-road will balance your tower by constructing additional floors higher on one side than the other.

It is the very soft soil that made your tower lean that later provides the flexibility needed for it to survive 4 earthquakes!

This architectural mistake has become a building marvel. This beautiful but faulty creation brings 5 million visitors each year. Why? It is a beautiful tower. That's not why. It is situated around beautiful surroundings. That's not why. These many visitors have heard about this leaning tower and endeavored to travel to see it firsthand...because it was a mistake! An oddity.

It's pretty much as simple as that!

If this Pisa Tower was perfect and placed in beautiful surroundings, a handful of tourists might frequent its site. The drawing card for all to make the 50-mile trip from Florence to Pisa is precisely its mistake. 

This tower being best known for being wrong brings me hope. Hopefully / Prayerfully my mistakes of today can also bring future masterpieces. We could marvel tomorrow at what we cry about today. I hope this brings you hope as well.

Maybe your big mistake will be similar to these surprising inventions that weren't what they were first intended to be: Super Glue; Post-It Notes; Play-Doh; Potato Chips; Corn Flakes; Cheese Puffs; the Slinky; Penicillin; X Rays

Have you seen Kintsugi Pottery? This is Japanese artwork created my mending broken pottery with gold lacquer or silver dust. It's highly valued in its broken state. Its flaws are cherished and emphasized. What was once considered broken to be discarded, is now a more valuable commodity. 

How many unplanned children - "mistakes" - have blessed our family and our world? We welcome them now and don't know what we would do without them. Wouldn't change a thing now that we know.

We should endeavor to do our best to build on solid soil. If we find out later that we didn't, we mustn't lose heart. All may not be lost. Our mistake could bring a grander outcome than we could imagine. 

We may have regrets. We will make many mistakes. We maybe didn't build what we wanted. What we intended. The potential to greatness still remains in God's hands. He's a miracle worker. He can do amazing things with all the faulty and meager we bring to Him.

Speaking of mistakes...Take another look at the above picture. I'm leaning in the wrong direction! Guess I shouldn't have admitted that but maybe the potential of a laugh at me will be an encouragement to you. You have my permission to laugh at me too! 🤣

Lean Left

Lean Right

Sometimes our mistakes

Turn out alright!