Just One-half Inch

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost;
For want of the shoe, the horse was lost;
For want of the horse, the rider was lost;
For want of the rider, the battle was lost;
For want of the battle, the kingdom was lost;
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail
--Very old rhyme

I thought of this rhyme a few weeks ago when the following was in the Star-Tribune:

The collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge may have originated with the failure of gusset plates that were sized a half-inch too thin in the original 1960s design, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday.

Hold your thumb and forefinger a half-inch apart. One half inch.
That is 0.002185% of the length of the 35W bridge that collapsed on August 1, 2007. Or 0.036% of the height of the bridge. How little things can have big consequences, even years and years later.

It is humbling to think that this may also be true of our lives and how we treat other people. So I must remember to be careful, to seek forgiveness and give forgiveness, to turn the other cheek...

Maybe Jesus already told us this.