The other day I used Super Glue to fix something – and it didn’t go well. The pieces were small, the glue is runny, and I was in a hurry. Too soon I realized a piece I glued first was preventing others from lining up. Worse, my fingers were stuck together.
Getting Super Glue on your fingers is usually no big deal. But this was next level. My thumb and forefinger were stuck together in a permanent a-ok sign. I tried pulling them apart, but that was going to hurt – a lot! I googled it. Soap and warm water? Nope. Margarine or olive oil? Nope. And then I saw it! My big, sharp kitchen knife. You know when you use a knife to cut through the clear tape on a package? That was my idea.
Carefully I pulled my fingers apart and then really, really gently started sawing between them with the big knife – half expecting to cut off my finger tip. But I didn’t!! It worked!! My fingers were free!
What does that have to do with the Course? A friend said you can go to the Course with any problem, open it to any page and find something right on point. And right after the glue episode I noticed how many times we are told to go slowly in our practice. “The world trains for reliance on one’s judgment as the criterion for maturity and strength. Our curriculum trains for the relinquishment of judgment as the necessary condition of salvation.” (OrEd.Mn.9.2)
My big hurry didn’t fix what was broken. My rush to start gluing was a rush to judgment without pausing for guidance. And my glued fingers were like the mess that results. Who knew there could be so much wisdom in Super Glue?
(originally appeared in Miracles Weekly #342, June 21 2022)