Slowing Down
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| Scene of Near-Miss Bicycle Accident |
Almost ran into a person on the corner in front of the library, as
I was riding my bicycle the other day.
It was one of those wide walkways down here in Florida, with apparent
room for both pedestrians and cautious cyclists. I yelled ahead and told him that I intended
to turn right where he was standing on the corner, hoping to get him to move
one way or the other so that I could continue on my way unimpeded. I thought “surely he must realize what my
intentions were”, but after slowing down as much as I could without stopping,
he still hadn’t taken a step and actually appeared to be shaking
ever-so-slightly. It didn’t seem as
though he were capable of making a decision as to what to do, so at the last
second I had to stop a few steps in front of him and dismount. With some aggravation and an “excuse me please”,
I finally convinced him to move ½ step so that I could turn the corner and proceed
right down Ravenswood Drive.
As I
peddled away, all I could think of was the fear that I saw in this individual’s
eyes. I expected the person on the corner to be ‘normal’ like all of the
other pedestrians that I had encountered on the streets of Port St Lucie. If his reactions had mimicked those I
anticipated there would have been a “hello” and a tip of the hat. It made me feel bad. How often are our actions misunderstood by,
and perhaps hurtful to others? What can
we do to prevent this or at least reduce its frequency by caring more for the
people we come across in our daily lives?
Perhaps just slowing down a little and being more observant, while
wearing a kinder cloak or mantle would do the trick. Will I be ready next time for my encounter
with someone just a little bit different?
The 2-Minute Warning!
I’ve been watching so much football this winter while
staying with my brother here in Florida, that I couldn’t help make at least one
comparison between the game of football and our lives in general.
| I used to be the only one who knew the official time! |
Often I get frustrated when I see football teams change their
whole strategy during the final 2 minutes of a game. One team employs a “prevent defense”, which
hardly ever seems to prevent the other team from scoring. The other team runs a set of plays called
their “2-minute” drill, which often involves a lot of passing and frequent
scoring of touchdowns. If it is so easy
to score, why didn’t they just play like that during the whole game, rather than
waiting until only 2 minutes was left?
But the 2-minute warning would appear to have outlived its original usefulness in football. Let's think about a 2-minute warning in the context of our lives. I bet many if not most people would rather have a “two-minute warning” before their death. Is that what a doctor gives to some when they tell them that they have 3 or 6 months to live from an inoperable form of late-stage cancer? What would you do with such knowledge? Does that give us time enough to go through a "2-minute drill" to score favor with God, or even to prepare and execute a short bucket list (for example, visit Paris, go sky diving, or apologize to a family member with whom we’ve been on nonspeaking terms)?
But the 2-minute warning would appear to have outlived its original usefulness in football. Let's think about a 2-minute warning in the context of our lives. I bet many if not most people would rather have a “two-minute warning” before their death. Is that what a doctor gives to some when they tell them that they have 3 or 6 months to live from an inoperable form of late-stage cancer? What would you do with such knowledge? Does that give us time enough to go through a "2-minute drill" to score favor with God, or even to prepare and execute a short bucket list (for example, visit Paris, go sky diving, or apologize to a family member with whom we’ve been on nonspeaking terms)?
So wouldn’t the same seem to imply to our lives? Why should we wait until the very end of our lives to do the things that we should have been doing all along? Isn't that what God expects? Why not go see something that you’ve always wanted to see, or do something that you’ve always wanted to do? Why not forgive or go visit that family member now instead of waiting?
Sarah’s Kitchen
This organization, which was begun in 2009 by a group of
spiritually motivated laymen and clergy, is an interfaith group representing 30
churches in the Port St Lucie area welcoming and providing hot nutritious meals
to those who are hungry and struggling financially. In response to God’s Love
and in the scriptural spirit of hospitality, volunteers meet each afternoon to prepare and serve  |
| Volunteers Preparing an Evening Meal |
these evening meals. They
believe that everyone can make
a positive difference in the lives
of
others. Several Monday
afternoons this
winter I have had
the opportunity to assist with the preparation of meals in the kitchen of the First United Methodist Church. Over 1,200 dinners are served weekly by Sarah’s Kitchen at First UMC and at other churches Tuesday through Friday. It has been fun, and I met a lot of wonderful
people from the community of faith.