At first, I thought it was a golf ball on a tee. I rejected that idea almost immediately. It was a mushroom. It was in the neighbor’s yard. I wanted a picture, but there was no room to park on the right side of the street. The truck took a circuitous route through the neighborhood so I could end up on the opposite side of the road. I stepped out to take a photo. It was low to the ground so I stooped down. I was not low enough. I tried to stretch down even further, but the next thing I knew, I was on the ground. I was sprawled at the edge of the road. About that time a car drove by. I kinda thought that they might stop to check on me. The vehicle ignored me. Maybe they knew me.
From my new vantage point, I reframed the picture. I pushed myself up, getting gravel marks on my hands and knees. It’s not as easy as it used to be. On the way back to my truck I kept saying in my head, “It was not here yesterday.” I drove past this yard yesterday. It was not in the yard. How can something the size of a golf ball grow overnight?
I had plant.id tell me it is a Chlorophyllum molybdites. It’s a bad mushroom. “Chlorophyllum molybdites, which has the common names of false parasol, green-spored Lepiota and vomiter, is a widespread mushroom. Poisonous and producing severe gastrointestinal symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, it is commonly confused with the shaggy parasol or shaggy mane, and is the most commonly consumed poisonous mushroom in North America.” I was not tempted to eat this mushroom.
Things can turn bad fast. In an instant, in a moment, in a single decision, we can choose the wrong words, the wrong course of action. We can compromise our values. And there for everyone to see is the evidence of our sin. I wake up to the news and the daily headlines pummel me with people’s tragic choices. Overnight, someone else has chosen darkness over light.
Jesus tells us that we have a daily decision to make, “to follow him” (Lk 9:23). We have to choose to say, ‘No’ to ourselves, to our flesh, to our worst instincts. Instead, Jesus leads us to say ‘Yes’ to his ways of goodness, sacrifice, and service to others.
Inevitably we each make a wrong choice. We reject God. We choose our own way. Then God’s plan is set in place. We face the consequences of sin. Our conscience is stirred. Then we have a new choice to make. Will we adjust? If we choose the path of repentance, then God’s amazing love activates. God restores us to himself. Grace is bestowed upon us. We need it every single day. We need the Jesus way of forgiveness, we need the renewal Jesus can bring. We need all the second chances he will give us. If not, our lives would be filled with the rotting reminders of all the poisonous decisions we have made.