I'm on the road a LOT this summer with different camps and mission experiences. Its fun but one thing I've noticed is that I have a tendency to get in the "check the box" mode. One camp down... three to go... type mode. It's that time where you have lots of things on your to-do list and you literally work your way through the list checking off item after item. This is not good.
God desires that I be right here, right now. He wants and desires my full attention. When I get in this "check box" mode I often hear him saying softly "Don't miss this, Terrace." Sometimes I think I'm too busy to hear him. But when I do (hear him) it is then that I need to immediately abandon the check list... and follow his direction.
I experienced this the other day at the post office. I had just returned from a week-long trip to a camp in South Carolina. I was running around town trying to check the boxes... this time literally checking the post office box. Upon coming out of the PO I was in a hurry and heard someone calling for help. I turned and this gentleman was calling for me (from his car) to help him. He asked if I could call his cellphone (as he had misplaced it). Upon dialing his digits he located the phone and then proceeded to get out of his car and began crying his eyes out! He immediately told me how he had lost his job and his wife in the same week and that it was a terrible time. Later he disclosed that he turned to alcohol for comfort and was severely depressed. Our discussion led to a time of prayer -- yes, right there in the parking lot. It was intense... but I would have missed it had I not abandoned the check list for what mattered most.
I don't want to miss what God has in store for me. I imagine even as I travel this summer and are on the road for weeks at a time there will be MANY opportunities like this where I need to be "right here, right now" and catch where God is active... present... working and join him.
Do you struggle with this? How do you deal with it?
God desires that I be right here, right now. He wants and desires my full attention. When I get in this "check box" mode I often hear him saying softly "Don't miss this, Terrace." Sometimes I think I'm too busy to hear him. But when I do (hear him) it is then that I need to immediately abandon the check list... and follow his direction.
I experienced this the other day at the post office. I had just returned from a week-long trip to a camp in South Carolina. I was running around town trying to check the boxes... this time literally checking the post office box. Upon coming out of the PO I was in a hurry and heard someone calling for help. I turned and this gentleman was calling for me (from his car) to help him. He asked if I could call his cellphone (as he had misplaced it). Upon dialing his digits he located the phone and then proceeded to get out of his car and began crying his eyes out! He immediately told me how he had lost his job and his wife in the same week and that it was a terrible time. Later he disclosed that he turned to alcohol for comfort and was severely depressed. Our discussion led to a time of prayer -- yes, right there in the parking lot. It was intense... but I would have missed it had I not abandoned the check list for what mattered most.
I don't want to miss what God has in store for me. I imagine even as I travel this summer and are on the road for weeks at a time there will be MANY opportunities like this where I need to be "right here, right now" and catch where God is active... present... working and join him.
Do you struggle with this? How do you deal with it?
Labels: Church, Culture, Hot Topics, Issues, Personal, Random, Youth Pastors
I am also guilty of the checking off the box kind of living. I've realized that it really helps to stop and smell the roses (sometimes literally!). I will pray for the man you ran into.
Thanks Shawlaw. The man I was referring to is named "Tom."
Wow, great story. I feel like this a lot too when there are a lot of events coming up. Noticing it on a daily level too, when i have a long to do list. When I am in check box mode, it helps to just remind myself that life doesn't have to be like that. Taking time to stop and pause throughout the day helps too.