Sometimes the week gets away from us, huh?
We set out in one direction only to go about another
way because of unexpected events. Or because we
misread the directions. Or because we need to go a
different route for our own sanity’s sake. Either
way, sometimes the road we set out on is not the one
we end up on.
This week has been a week. As one who really enjoys
crossing off things on the ‘to do’ list, I’ve done
more adding than subtracting. Yesterday especially,
from the moment I got to the church to a little
before seven, I was on the go. I had intentions of
getting a lot done yesterday, like this midweek
reflection and some other administration type tasks.
That just didn’t or wasn’t going to happen. At one
point during the day I found myself getting a bit
frazzled. I was worrying about how I was not only
going to get things done but also if I could keep up
with all the added fun. I love meeting with people.
I don’t love being distracted by my worries when I
meet with them. Nothing is so important,
administration-wise, to keep me from being in
community with the person I’m visiting.
Yesterday, when I had a 20-minute break in my
schedule, I did something I had not done since
April: sat in our chapel. I turned off my phone
(okay, I left it upstairs in my study) and I lit
some candles. I sat in one of those beautiful choir
chairs gifted to us by Mildred Holland and I watched
the flames dance before the crucifix hanging in the
chapel.
The air conditioner was blowing but the sun
streaming through the beautiful stained glass
windows on Ottawa street warmed me. The church was
silent. So silent you could probably hear the church
mouse. Outside the humidity radiated off the empty
streets, but inside, the little lights of the candle
illuminated the love of God.
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Friends, whatever is before you, you don’t have to
get it all done now. In fact, you will always have
things to do.
Only one question is helpful. What is the
next, small step? When you figure it out, take it.
Yesterday the small step for me was to sit silently
in our chapel. There were emails to write and phone
calls to make, sure. However, what I needed was not
on the ‘to do’ list. Those few moments of silently
sitting and prayerfully listening in the chapel gave
me what I needed to get through those last few hours
of the day.
Sometimes we need to call an ‘audible.’ Sometimes
the tasks on our lists can wait. Sometimes we need
to find our way to our favorite chair or park to
just be.
Be not afraid to venture off the beaten path of
things to do. It might be there you find what you’re
really looking for.
[Adam Quine, pastor at First Presbyterian Church
in Lincoln.] |
