Do you ever start a new week and then feel behind even though it is only Tuesday? For many of us, being hurried just comes naturally. I keep a Palm Pilot that has lots of things that I plan to do or think I ought to do. I have a calendar that has on it places that I am supposed to be on certain dates. I use e-mail, an ATM, e-mail, and a micro-wave (which often seems too slow). I have a cell phone, a phone on my desk and then one at home. The other day I was reading an e-mail, talking on the cell phone and then the phone on my desk rang. I picked it up to tell a person in the office that I could not talk right then. I remember thinking about how silly this was.
Many of us are so busy and frazzled that we just skim the surface of life. We skim and then move on to something new. No time to read, think, or talk at length with anyone. In quieter moments, we begin to realize how stressed we are, how alone we feel, and how exhausted that we have become. Our mania for keeping busy has left no time to pray or to meditate on God’s Word. For many of us, this kind of living has become our lifestyle. Occasionally, it will dawn on us that we are living this way and then we decide to hurry up and have fun!
The other night, some very good friends of our were involved in a serious automobile accident. It is incredible that they are even alive. In fact, it is a miracle that they are alive. From pre-wreck to post-wreck, everything has changed. Their accident has caused me to remember that things that may seem so critical at one moment in time may not really be all that important. When your life is spared, you are reminded that the really important things in life (your walk with God–your marriage–your children–your friends and loved ones) are what really count.
Whether or not your life has been recently spared or not, we all have one thing in common. Today is a gift from God. From the air we breath to the smallest gesture of kindness, it is all a gift.
Jim….as always I enjoy reading your blog. This week’s post got me to thinking, and you know how scary that can be, but I had an interesting thought on all of the so-called technological gadgets that you mentioned in your first paragraph. What if, instead of all the “extra personal time” that these conveniences are advertised to add to our lives, they were pitched to us that they would make our “spiritual” lives better. How well do you think the masses would have picked up and run with that! Does any company ever advertise any modern day convenience as something that could enhance our relationship with our heavenly father and how do you “Madison Avenue” that scenario as opposed to what we often see as a young, hip man or woman flying down the highway in their fancy sports car talking on a cell phone while receiving a fax on a fax machine?
Secondly, Saturdays are a gift from God. I love to get up early in the morning, enjoy what is left of the cool Texas air for that day with a couple of cups of coffee, and not only thank the Lord for “the smallest gesture of kindness” but for the strength and the ability to get out there and cut the grass and wrestle the weed eater around the yard. To see the children run and play, the squirrels ambling about while being chased by screaming birds, and watching the cats slinking about on safari…it’s all a gift!
Lastly…ask Susan about “our” snake story. She thought it was so funny while I, of course, saw no humor in it what-so-ever!!
Thanks,
Michael