i'm sitting in the waiting room of a car dealership right now while my car is getting it's regular oil change & maintenance checks. earlier this year we decided to purchase a new car figuring it would be an investment that we would have for many, many years. one of the requirements of having a vehicle that lasts more than 10 years is to have regular maintenance done - fluids checked & changed, belts tightened, pressures checked, tires rotated, pads replaced.when we talk about our spiritual lives, many times you will hear some one speak on the evils of "just maintaining." maybe we need to change our spiritual perspective on maintenance. think about it: if i don't do regular checks, changes, & adjustments, how is my spiritual life & connection with God supposed to last me for my whole life?
last night we are sitting together as a family watching "the biggest loser" & a commercial came on for a popular anti-depression drug. as all drug commercials go, they have to list all the bad side effects... have you ever wondered why anyone would take some of these drugs after hearing that you might start bleeding out of your eyebrows if you take that prescription?!
so one of the side effects of this anti-depression drug is the possibility of suicide. our 10 year old son turned to us & asked what suicide was. i explained that suicide was when someone took their own life. he thought about that for a moment & then followed up with "why would anyone do that?" it was amazing to see the compassion in his eyes at that moment.
the conversation continued for only a few more moments, but that look will never leave me.
i enjoy driving & going on trips. there is something that happens to me when i get behind the wheel & head out: i become incredibly quiet. it's my time to get in "the zone" & think. my poor wife has gotten used to this & usually brings a book along for any commute over 15 minutes. she must really love me!
now when i'm on a long trip, i usually have some significant places that i feel that i need to make it to - like a state line, a big city, a rest stop. sometimes it can be quite a ways between those places, so the government was brilliant enough to help people like me from going crazy & they put up markers at every mile along the highways. since most states have their exits numbered by what mile they are on that particular highway, with some quick 3rd grade math, you can figure out how much farther you have to go before your 32oz bladder realizes you just drank a 44oz SuperExtraHugeSlushyEnergyNoIce Drink.
i like mile markers in my own life. for me, they help me to see that i'm progressing along in my journey through life. some significant markers in my life have been: my dad dying when i was 16, accepting that God had some BIG plans for my life @ 17, graduation from high school & college, getting married, my first church as a youth pastor, my son being born, me realizing my top 3 passions as a pastor, and the list continues.
each of these markers have huge significance to me. i can look back on each one & see how God guided me, provided, protected, lifted, strengthed, confronted. it's important to have these to make sure we keep moving forward.
In Joshua 3-4, God has Joshua lead the Israelites through the Jordan River into the promised land. God has Joshua get 12 guys to pick up these huge stones out of the middle of the river on their way through. Once all of the Israelites made it into the promised land, they piled up those rocks where they slept that night.
Joshua explained to the people (vs 6-7) "We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future, your children will ask, 'What do these stones mean to you?' Then you can tell them, 'They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord's covenant went across.' These stones will stand as a permnant memorial among the people of Israel." It goes on to say in verse 9 that at the time of the writing of the book of Joshua, that "the memorial remains there to this day."
God didn't want the significant events of one generation be forgotten by the next or to be forgotten by those that lived it! the same thing is true in our lives! the markers in our journey need to be remembered for the fact that God was there with us and He will continue to be with us on this journey. Now the question is: have you past any markers lately?
do you have some major mile markers in your life that God reminds you of?
for the second time in 3 weeks i have walked into my office donning my sporty sunglasses as if my entourage was close on my heals. i was doing my best to make it to the safety of my office before too many people noticed... but i wasn't so lucky.
today i had another visit to the eye doctor & i had my eyes dilated so they could get a better view of the back of my eyes. that makes it easy for them... the problem is that afterwards, ANY light creates a headache & any font smaller than 2" is hard to read. and so there is the reason for the sunglasses. in my office. with the door shut.
a friend of mine has been dealing with retinal detachment issues this year that has left him nearly blind in that one eye. he has had to adapt the way he does everyday chores due to the reduced vision now. "you don't realize how much you rely on your peripheral vision..." he said.
i began to think about that again today as i was dealing with my own temporary vision problems. i was driving from the doctors visit to my office, squinting behind my sunglasses, when i realized that i was being passed by another car on my right (i was in the left lane). i consider myself an A+ driver & use my mirrors, check my "blind spots", etc. but i didn't notice the car until it was already beside me. it snuck up on me. i didn't see it coming. i was squinting, focusing so hard to try & accomplish the task in front of me i missed what was going on around me.
i can't tell you how many times life situations have snuck up on me. when you squint your eyes, you narrow your focus and attention towards one point or object. you also reduce the amount of peripheral vision that you have. the problem then comes when you are trying so hard to see better that you actually see worse.
the key is to balance focus of what is going on in front of us & keeping peripherally aware so we aren't blind-sided. the Bible tells us in Proverbs 2:11 (MSG) that "good sense will scout ahead for danger, insight will keep an eye out for danger." a wise person's attention is not only focused on what is ahead but also stays aware of what is going on around.
i definitely will be driving checking my mirrors a little more often on the way home.
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