Brenda’s Blog – April 21, 2020
“Put your shovel down!”
My son in law’s business is 100% reliant on internet connections. They are located in a rural East Texas town without alternative lines or even backup systems.
Recently a road crew expanding a narrow roadway cut the fiber optic cable. Result? No service! Clients across the country immediately recognized the downtime. Everything came to a halt. This was not one of their better days.
In his frustration he wanted to go to the worksite and yell, “Put your shovel down!”
Those men working on the road repair had a contract to enable a safer highway. They did not awaken with the intent of shutting down the largest employer in the county. But one errant backhoe and life changed for everyone using those cables.
Yes, they should have instructions about the location of the critical utilities. Yes, a crew should have identified the area with nifty little flags. But in reality, the should haves don’t count. An ordinary day’s work turned into an extraordinarily bad day for everybody.
Can you remember times when you thought you were helping but were actually making a mess? How about that awful experience of wanting to be a problem solver yet creating more confusion? Aren’t they terrible? We shake our heads, wondering “Where did I go wrong?”
But before we get too embarrassed and disillusioned we need to give thanks for those we love (and love us) who understand where the sensitive areas are buried and plant red flags to avoid relational catastrophes. Before disaster they step in to say, “put your shovel down!”