I decided to buy something fun for the boys to play with at our house. I found some ‘crazy carts’ online and talked my husband into buying these carts made for adults that would last us for years to come. These carts were electric with casters in the back where when you pulled a bar the casters hit the ground, and the cart spins in circles. When the carts arrived, my husband and I took the carts for a ‘spin’ and we realized the carts were even more fun than I expected. The only drawback was that these carts didn’t have any brakes. The easiest way to stop the carts was to spin the carts until you stop. Crazy, but FUN!
I went to go pick up the boys from school and asked them to sit on the front porch and eat a snack. I rushed to the garage, unplugged one of the carts, jumped on the cart, and started down the driveway. As I headed out into the street I pulled in front of our house and spun that cart further and faster than I previously had. I started to take off again as the boys sat on the porch with their mouths hanging wide open. As I headed down the street, I noticed a car was coming down the street. I pulled the cart to the side of the street and pulled the spin bar to bring myself to a stop. I began spinning out of control. As the car on the street got closer, I turned the cart toward the curb. I came to an abrupt stop as I smashed into the bushes in the neighbor’s yard across the street. The driver of the car who lived in our neighborhood stopped, made sure I was okay, and we both laughed at my crazy driving. When the car left, the boys ran over excited to take their turn. I sat there on the crazy cart and asked the boys if they saw what just happened. They said yes! I then explained to them that what they witnessed was what NOT to do as they were about to ride the carts. We pulled the cart out of the bushes, the boys put on their bike helmets, I set up a chair where I could watch for traffic so they could go crazy in the street.
The crazy carts were a great investment. The boys really enjoyed them. One of the things they remembered the most was how I accidentally showed them how not to treat the crazy carts. They saw the potential of getting thrown from the cart as I jumped the curb and how that the car going down the street could have hit me. It was a great example of learning from other people’s mistakes and making sure that these cute, rambunctious boys did not follow my example. There are certainly two types of examples, ones that show you what to do, and ones that show you what NOT to do. When Paul was talking to the church in Philippi, he encouraged them to be a positive example. That day I set out to be a good example of how I wanted the boys to drive the crazy carts, but I ended up showing them exactly what not to do. Paul reminds us that we need to be examples of what to do, and not what not to do.
“Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.” Philippians 3:17
