Bus Stop Buried

An undeniable fact we all must face is that all of us find ourselves legs up sooner or later.

Some of the sights we observe in life reach out and grab our attention and won’t let go.

Months ago, on my way to work, I took a corner on a back road and came upon an unusual site.  There were some kids standing in their driveway waiting for the bus to come pick them for school.  However, at first glance it appeared to me that they were standing at the edge of a cemetery waiting for the bus to come. After I looked closer, it was clear that the old graveyard just happened to be next to their driveway.

 

Some of us are just starting our journey in life while others are finishing up with it.  Or as my eighty five year old neighbor likes to say, she feels like she is about to round third base, but God won’t wave her home yet.

God’s perspective on life and death is far different than ours.  Take a look at Psalm 39:4-7:

⁴ “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
    Remind me that my days are numbered—
    how fleeting my life is.
⁵ You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
    My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
    at best, each of us is but a breath.”

⁶ We are merely moving shadows,
    and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.
We heap up wealth,
    not knowing who will spend it.
⁷ And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?
    My only hope is in you.

 Still don’t know why God numbers some lives longer than others.  Needless to say, He is not taking any Q & A on the matter.   Some assignments just last longer I suppose.  The only thing that truly matters, and I learned this from my wife, is that we do “our job” for God while we are here.  Whether we are pleasing to God or not with our lives is up to us, yet it is so very vital to God that we seek to do so. Then, when He is ready, He will take us home to be with Him. 

 

Somewhere between the bus stop and being buried, I have learned to make the most of everyday the Good Lord has given to me.

Swavel

About Nothing

Some people love to stir up trouble.

Our time together is not going to be like a Seinfeld episode.  The famous sitcom was based on the fact that the show was about nothing; rather I am going to focus on people making something controversial out of something that was nothing if left alone.  There are some people I believe that just love the sound of their own voice. 

 

Case in point, I love sports and used to like sports talk radio.  Anymore though it seems a lot of the talk radio programs are like good cop bad cop, or devil’s advocate.  The show picks a controversial topic or sports event or game and then they start to rant.

This is far too easy to do.  If one athlete fails for a few games to meet expectations they badger him or her.  Then they wonder out loud if that athlete is washed up or not and then go on to over analyze the individual’s performance.  When they do good and exceed they say, “told you so”, or say it was expected.  And in some cases they even over hype his or her accomplishments.  Sometimes they go as far as to talk about legacies or putting someone in the hall of fame. Sadly, we live in a world where emotions run high and override facts. 

So, wait a minute.  I love sports, but sports or just a fun distraction.  No one is saving someone from drowning or curing cancer or helping someone who is down and out.  Even parents often don’t get recognized for raising a child well till their child is grown up. 

  

The hard truth is that in life the significant accomplishments many people do often go unnoticed at the moment they are occurring.  It is the consistency of loving and caring for someone else, day after day, year after year, that only time can judge.

Rather than going on about nothing, we should be doing something significant in its stead.

Swavel

How Fast

Where are we all going in such a hurry?

We live in a society where so many of us think we should have had it done yesterday.

The other week I was doing some bathroom reading at work and discovered something profound.  On the front cover of a car magazine it read: HOW FAST?

This phrase comes up often in life. How fast is asked when referring to a new car or the speed of one’s internet services or a boss pressing his employees to get their work done and beat the looming dead line.  In our culture, how fast seems to be a mantra that permeates our everyday existence. 

However, for me how fast causes me to make mistakes.  Three times, in the last month, I accidentally locked my keys in my work truck. The one time I broke in myself, one time a female police officer broke in for me and the last time my wife and two neighbors helped my break into my truck.

  

Not to mention, I also forget to lock the back of my truck from time to time, and the door precariously swings open while I am driving in traffic.  Then nice, kindhearted drivers slow down and honk at my and wave yelling, did you know your door is open?!  How embarrassing.  And the reason is that it’s my entire fault.  I was trying to do too much in too little time.

Slow down, take a deep breath and relax a little.  Advice I offer to you and myself, but unfortunately seldom heed.  Blood flows better to our brain when we are less stressed and more relaxed in our own skin.

How fast is fast enough?  The question, though rhetorical, can only be answered by each and every individual each day. 

But, the very God who made us even believed in taking a break to reflect, when He created the world in six days, and on the seventh rested.  If God does things with purpose, yet still takes his time, shouldn’t we all attempt be more clear and less befuddled. 

   

How fast is not what we need to pursue, but rather we should focus on doing things that are more pleasing to our Maker.

Swavel