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September 12, 2026

“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn

in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above

measure.” 2 Corinthians 12:7

Some years ago, Hyemi and I were on our way to visit. The changing colors of the trees

were just absolutely beautiful and amazing. Suddenly, Hyemi asked, “Do you know why

the leaves fall?” I had no idea. Then she told me, “It’s because of ethylene. They are

hormones in plants, and that’s what makes the leaves fall.” Of course, that’s how she

would explain! She’s a scientist! For the next couple of minutes, she explained to me how

ethylene works and the process by which leaves fall. I had no idea what she was saying. It

was like a foreign language to me. Bottom line: leaves fall because of ethylene.

Hyemi told me she could never forget the word ‘ethylene.’ She was taking her exam in

college. She was well prepared and ready to ace it. She studied hard. But she couldn’t get

a perfect score. She wrote down all the answers except for one: ethylene. Funny, she

couldn’t remember that word for her exam, but because of that experience, she will

never forget it.

I feel like that is how God lets us make mistakes so we can learn a great deal from them.

We assume that the thorn Paul mentions in the verse above is about his bad eyesight

due to the blindness he had on his way to persecute Christians. But because of that

experience, he met Jesus. Every time Paul thinks about his poor eyesight, he does not

complain, but remembers that Jesus has saved him.

No, we shouldn’t make mistakes. But even if we do, let’s remember God. The scars you

may have from the past, the mistakes you might have made, and the times when you

might have drifted from God should become a way to search for God. And we should

remember God for the goodness He has done to us!