While working in my front yard the other day, I noticed the mailman zip past our house without stopping. Not too unusual and my only thought was, “Evidently had no mail today.” But just a few minutes later here he came again, from the other direction. Our neighborhood consists of a couple of streets built in a figure eight. It circles thru about fifty homes, so it really isn’t that large of mail delivery zone. But it can be confusing to a newbie, which obviously he was.
I continued my raking and then I heard him coming from the opposite direction. Minutes later he reversed course and passed our house again. But this time he slowed down and stopped, then backed up and delivered our mail. I have no doubt he will get the hang of our neighborhood quite soon.
I waved and returned to my pile of leaves and grass cuttings with a grin on my face. Laughing at his predicament? Nope. Quite the contrary. His frantic zipping around overlooking what he is seeking just may be the story of my own life. Being in a fizz to get somewhere to get something done…and miss seeing what was right in front of me and truly important. I’ve been in his shoes too many times to enjoy a joke at his expense.
Want some examples from my life that may have an echo from yours?
As a small child, the days between December 1 and December 25 seemed to take forever when I was young and waiting for Christmas Day. Remember that feeling? Being so impatient you don’t really enjoy the entire season. Later during the years of being an older kid, I jealously waited for my cool teen years, with all the ‘freedoms’ they promised. Then I became a typical gritching and grumbling teenager, whining about the strictness of my parents, and longing for adulthood. Now an adult, I can still be racing everywhere and zooming right past the good things in life.
Always looking around the next corner, blind to now.
Something tells me I am a member of Club Fizz. Are you one of us – spending too much time doing things that aren’t really crucial, to achieve things that are forgettable? And therefore missing the truly significant?
Making good money and being known to have good kids at the expense of making good relationships is a poor bargain. A dad being so busy growing the family business that he misses too much of his kids growing up. A mom pushing and encouraging her brood to be all they can be. And forgetting to not only encourage them, but to also help them grieve and learn to accept their failures as a normal part of life.
Folks, I implore you, slow down that vehicle you are driving. Take time to actually see the people in your life and make the time to enjoy what God has given you.
We are Dr. Andy & Renie Bowman, authors of the nationally syndicated "CoffeeTime Column" and hosts of popular podcast "CoffeeTime with Andy & Renie Bowman". 