The more hurrieder I go, the more behinder I get...
Posted by Pastor Paul at 5/25/2008 11:06 PM and is filed under uncategorized 
Deadlines, due dates, schedules, expectations and promises, these are things that make our heads feel like they will explode.
It is normal in today's society to feel the weight of these things. It is normal in today's world to be under the gun and continually behind in our committments. It is so hard to say no, especially when it is something that I really enjoy doing.
How many times have you said to yourself; "once Christmas is over, then things will get back to normal." or "all I have to do is get past this crisis and then things will slow down to a manageable pace."
The truth of the matter is however, tomorrow never comes and things will never slow down.
There is only one solution for this dilemna, and that is it. There are not several options for this problem, unless of course you just want things to continue on as they have for a very long time now.
The problem with life is this; if on the road of life all we do is dodge traffic and try not to get run over, then all of our energy will go into that leaving nothing as a reserve for reaching our destination.
I am here to tell you that before you know what has happened 25 years will pass you by and you will find yourself looking back with nothing to show for your life. Nothing that is except maybe money or more stuff. More time spent at the office and less with the ones that you love.
We are planning a Denver CO motorcycle trip this summer, two weeks of riding the backroads of America, Wild Hogs coming to life in our own lives and the biggest struggle with those deciding whether or not to come is "but what about work?" "What about my responsibilities?"
Now these are valid concerns that have the potential to bring a lot of regret in years to come. Not because if they miss this trip their lives will be unfulfilled, but rather that job and other people's expectations of us are the main driving force in our decisions about what our priorities will be.
When I lie on my deathbed I know that I will not be saying "wow, I sure wish I would have spent more time at work," but I will probably say something like "I sure wish I would have taken more time to live out my dreams and put it all out there."
I wish that the biggest dilemna most people would have is what great adventure they must choose between this year with their families and friends. I wish that more people would be willing to live with a smaller house and older car so that they could go camping with their kids while they are still little.
I just learned tonight that I must officiate at a funeral of a man who committed suicide today, and I wonder what his regrets are right now. I wonder if he made choices that were so bad that he couldn't live with them or if he just grew tired of the struggle and gave up. Or maybe it was something else that I just don't understand.
But this I do know, that when the world comes at me from every direction at once and I feel like a leaf being pushed down the gutter by a firehose; when I am overwhelmed by life and feel like I cannot stand, it is then that the simplest things mean the most. Things like burying my face in my little dogs neck and giving her a zerbert. Things like snuggling with my wife or talking on the phone to my daughter Steph and her man, taking a ride on my motorcycle or a heartfelt prayer of brokenness.
When my life revolves around simple things iit seems that I have a shorter distance to fall, because I will fall, sooner or later I will fall, we all fall. And the promise of God cuts through the white noise that dominates my brain "I will never leave you or forsake you, even unto the end of the world."
It is then I realize that God was always there, I just got so busy I lost him in the fray. I just got so distracted that I walked past him and didn't see him. I just got so caught up in what I NEED TO DO that I forgot about what I LOVE TO DO.
Well I have to go now, my little dog is standing up like a Prairie Dog and asking me to notice her, I feel a zerbert coming on...
Hi charlie brown! ...true words. I've seen some little kitchy sign that says "a clean house is a sign of a wasted life"...i get what it's saying, but i still clean the house. Just have to make sure the obligations don't rule you. I feel you Jerry.
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