When Exceptions Rule

“Trust God, and lock your car—no matter how safe the parking lot looks.”

— Henry Cloud

Exceptions are a real thing.,

Everything is riding along hunky-dory and then bam, something you were not expecting blows your plans to kingdom come.

But here’s the danger, exceptions must not be allowed to punch above their weight.  

What I mean is that spending your life worrying about the exceptions to the point that they begin stopping innovation and taking wisely calculated risk is like allowing a family of beavers to live in your brain.  They will just keep gnawing away at your hopes and dreams and potential and possibilities until they build a dam of worry and policies and bureaucracy that eventually stops everything except the really, really safe stuff (as in boring) and eventually your life and organization becomes calcified (as in dying or dead). 

I remember an occasion when that I gave permission to my Children’s Pastor to rent inflatables for a big event.  There were some who worried about injuries and lawsuits.  My response was, “That’s why we buy insurance.”

Maybe it was because I was younger and more brash in those days, but I meant it and I still do.  Of course do your research, listen to wise counsel, take precautions, and, by all means, buy that special rider from your insurance company, for exceptions do happen.  But at the end of the day, you have to give enough space for your hopes and dreams to have a chance.

It’s called risk and there’s no way around it. 

The ONE THING for today: Exceptions happen and contingency plans to deal with them is wise, but don’t make the exception the rule.  Let your hopes and dreams rule. 

The future belongs to the brave. 

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.