Don’t Jump To Conclusions

When I was a little girl in early elementary school I loved learning new words.
I remember learning the word, observe.
We were told to observe the color of the leaves and observe their different shapes.
I used the word, observe, far too much as I was trying to make that word my own.

I remember learning a phrase that I wanted to try the next time I hung up the phone.
A friend called about a homework question.
At the end of our conversation, I said, Good riddance.
I remember my mother giving me a disapproving look from the kitchen.

Why did you say that? She asked me in a firm tone.
Say what? I answered not knowing what she meant.
Good riddance; that was very rude, my mother said in a matter of fact way.
It means, goodbye, I said trying to defend myself.

No, it does not! My mother answered emphatically.
If there had been Google back in those days, she would have had me look it up.
Phrases like that were not in Webster’s dictionary; I had to rely on her explanation.
I was also told that I had to call the person back and apologize for being rude.

I can Google that phrase now after all those years.
My mother was right; the phrase was indeed rude.
I looked up the meaning of, good riddance.
It is said to express relief at being free of a troublesome or unwanted person or thing.

I cringe as I remember the end of that conversation.
The lover of words and phrases liked the sound of that one without checking it out first.
A discussion could be had about the benefit of being within earshot as you were on the phone.
However, that discussion is for another time.

I called the offended person who was the same age as me.
I said what I was to say; however, it was not understood on the other end of the phone.
For all I know that person liked the sound of, good riddance, too.
Who knows how far that expression rippled through our class?

I thought about that incident when I encountered something similar.
This time I was the recipient.
I found the encounter innocent and precious.
Sometimes we have to look at the heart behind the words in order to really understand them.

I had been running errands all morning and still had a few more stops to make.
As I entered the store with the bulls-eye, I decided to run into the ladies room first.
The door opened quickly as a mother a daughter came out.
Excuse me, the mother said as the little girl gave me a big smile.

The little girl stopped in the doorway which made her mother a human doorstop.
You have white hair, she said sweetly looking right into my eyes.
Her mother looked embarrassed.
The mother looked as if digging a hole to fall in would have been preferred at that moment.

I do, I answered with a giggle, and you have yellow hair!
I don’t have yellow hair; I have white hair like you! She said with a dimpled smile.
I laughed so hard at the entire encounter.
I gave the mother a reassuring look; she seemed relieved that I was not annoyed.

I thought about the little girl’s comment as I wheeled my shopping cart through the store.
I thought about the way I ended that conversation all those years ago.
It wasn’t until I got into my car that it dawned on me.
Don’t jump to conclusions.

What if the mother of the little girl scolded her for offending me?
The little girl did not offend me; her remark was honest and very observant.
In the little girl’s mind, she saw my hair and her very blond hair as exactly the same.
She was stating a fact just as if she said the grass was green.

Thinking back to my mother, she attempted to steer me in the right direction.
Had she not explained what that phrase meant, I would have continued saying it.
My mother did not jump to conclusions.
She heard me and corrected me so it would not happen again.

How often do we give another person the benefit of the doubt?
How ready are we to pause a moment before we assume the motives of another person?
How well do we listen?
How wise are we in our reactions?

What you have seen with your eyes, do not bring hastily to court, for what will you do in the end if your neighbor puts you to shame? (Proverbs 25:8)

Put another way, in the more colloquial language of The Message bible:
Don’t jump to conclusions – there may be a perfectly good explanation for what you just saw.

Don‘t jump to conclusions.
Give the other person the benefit of the doubt.
Find the humor in the situation.
Give grace.

You have white hair.
It was simply a statement of fact, not a condemnation.
Funny thing is, in the little girl’s mind, we matched.
Imagine how different the encounter might have been had I jumped to conclusions.