When Glass Explodes

Today I got a rare head start on dinner: made-from-scratch lasagna.  The sauce was looking and smelling delicious.  The lasagna dish was cleaned and ready to fill, and I put a pot of water on the stove to boil for the noodles and turned up the heat.

Confidence is usually a good thing.  It shouldn't be cocky or arrogant, but when it’s there, everything is sure.  Calm.

I had quickly checked which burner I turned on, and even resisted the urge to double-check.  I knew the glass dish was sitting on another burner, but trusted I hadn’t made a mistake.

Confidence can be a bad thing, too.  Like when it makes me feel sure about something that isn’t true.  Deceptive.

I had my back to the stove, and smelled a slight burnt odor.  Turning to look, I immediately noticed that the burner under the glass dish was quite red.  I turned off the burner and backed up, just watching the dish, anticipating something was about to happen.  Sure enough, the dish literally exploded, sending shards of glass seemingly everywhere.  Thankfully none of those shards made their way into my eyes or skin, but that delicious-smelling sauce had now been seasoned with glass.  And though I felt I had just witnessed a scene from some action movie, whatever thrill that gave me was quickly tempered by the somber and frightening realization that it happened in my kitchen, not on my TV.

Silly me - I wasn’t eating lasagna for dinner; I was eating humble pie.

My husband witnessed the entire scene and was quite wonderful about the whole incident.  He cleaned the majority of the mess I had just created, and together we lamented our ruined lasagna sauce.  He kindly reminded me that accidents happen and said it wasn’t a big deal.  Really, it was an ordeal, as we (he) had to take apart half of the kitchen, ensuring every tiny piece of glass was cleaned up and unable to harm our fourteen-month-old daughter.

After kicking myself over making such a mindless mistake for a couple of hours now, I’ve had time to think it all over.  I tend to be a confident person about most things in my life.  I try to minimize mistakes and carefully calculate words and actions beforehand.  Good goals, to be sure.  Tonight I was reminded, albeit through a small mishap, that hard as I may try, I can’t be sure of myself and my decisions.  I will fail.  This isn’t a depressing, hopeless statement, but just an observation and reminder of the fact that I will make mistakes and unwise choices, though I try my best not to.  I should not have utmost confidence in myself.

I would even venture to say that, perhaps, neither should you.

I may not have complete confidence in myself, but I do know One in whom I can have complete confidence.  Otherwise I don’t know how I would go through this life, let down by others, and even myself, at every turn.  He is my rock, and my firm foundation.  And He’s incredibly good at helping pick up the pieces and turn them into something beautiful for His glory.  Even when glass explodes.