He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him – Proverbs 18:13
“Are you certain I have the virus?” This question from her daughter, Dolores, upstairs on her cellphone stopped Patricia from heading out the door to run errands. Convinced her daughter had received the dreaded results of a COVID test taken unbeknownst to her, Patricia assumed that she too was likely infected and needed to lie low. After taking a deep breath and pulling a mask from her purse, Patricia made a mental list of necessities, then left hastily.
Several hours later, Patricia pulled into the carport just as Dolores was exiting the house. “Hey, Mom, the virus on my computer has been cleared up,” Dolores said, “and I’m going to work for a couple of hours. It looks like you have enough groceries in your backseat for a quarantine! See you later.” Patricia waved, as her face felt flushed from sheer embarrassment.
Jumping to conclusions, as Patricia did, will almost always guarantee an uncomfortable landing. Getting the facts before reacting is the best antidote to “false jumping.”