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Following Instructions

I write a lot, and after I suffered a stroke in 2009, I was determined to continue writing. Twelve years later, as I look back at some of my work, I am appalled at the typographical and grammatical errors I made in my essays.  Adding further to my dismay, I realized that I posted them on the internet for all to see! Vision impairments resulting from the stroke had caused me to skip spaces and make multiple spelling errors. Although I was not known as a perfectionist in my writing skills, I could get by with very few mistakes in most of my writings before the stroke.  Now I find that  I must relearn the rules of basic grammar.  Comma usage, writing in an active voice, and avoiding run-on sentences are common mistakes that I  make.  After years of writing blog posts, I can go back and correct the errors I made and move forward. I can do this because I found a program on the internet that corrects common mistakes in writing. At first, I settled for using the free version.  Then I decided to invest a little more in my work by purchasing the paid professional version.  I continued to write, this time with some improvement. Still, my papers were not the best they could be.
As I searched for answers, I wondered why the program was not living up to its claims.  After all, I had invested in a program that promised to correct most or all of my mistakes. Yet, something was wrong.  There were still many errors in my essays.  After giving my situation some thought, I realized that I was not using the program's full potential!   After I read the accompanying instructions and the helpful suggestions, I found out that I had only begun to tap into the program's capabilities.
Since then, I have learned some important lessons. I see that if you are going to invest in anything to improve how you do things, you can not go about it in a hap Hazzard way.   It is essential to take the time to read the instructions, or you will not get the results that you desire. As I thought about my problem with the grammar program, I realized that our lives might be a lot like this.   We all want a happy and fulfilling life.  Yet, unless you read and follow the instructions, you can make a lot of poor decisions.  If you are experiencing difficulties due to poor choices, get out God's instruction book, the Bible, read daily, and follow the instructions.
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