A Prophet Unawares
The day is Sunday, the place is Saint Mary’s Anglican Church, the who is primarily me, the what is an event wherein I am confronted on two fronts with an aspect of my behavior that I need to change, and the why I cannot say for sure, but taking a shot in the dark I would say that God is both holy and he has a sense of humor.
As I am sitting in the pews, amidst my family, both tracking the sermon and working on this sense that there is some part of my soul over which I need to relinquish control and acknowledge the intimate sovereignty of God, I overheard the priest talk about impatience and waiting. In giving an example where his impatience is most acute, the priest shared how he tends to project frustration on people who are in front of him in line, and how he reacts with the thought that such people need to hurry up because his time is important. As he was sharing, I found myself completely identifying with him and I began to pray. In the midst of acknowledging my need to work on this subtle, but grossly egoistic expression of falleness, my son, Ethan James, leans in and quietly says to me, “You are like that when you drive the car… Everyone is in your way.” Yes, indeed, my ten year old son, a prophet unawares, functioned to deepen the awareness of my need for change. And now, I am sitting here writing this, thinking about how Jesus once said that a person who accepts a prophet in his name will receive the reward of that prophet.
A closing prayer:
Lord, on the day I stand before you, please remember to share some of Ethan’s reward with me, as I have accepted your words through him. Amen
Wrote the following comment on May 9th, 2008 at 3:53 pm #
There was some piece on ABC News this week about Americans fitting 31 hours of stuff in 24 hour days by multitasking; whether we were multitasking WELL was not addressed.
Don’t know if it will help, but I find having something to read when I’m standing in line (usually a magazine for that stop-and-start experience) creates the difference for me between “Why don’t those people in front of me (and the teller/checkout person) HURRY UP?!” and “Ooh, here’s a chance to get through last week’s Newsweek.”
Wrote the following comment on May 9th, 2008 at 4:28 pm #
SLOW DOWN! Life screams that all the damn time, but people are always in too much of a hurry to see that message. Most of us are little more than slaves to the clock. I hate to quote Star Trek but in one of the movies the baddie says to Picard “Time is the fire in which we burn.” That quote seems very true to me.
A few years ago I saw an ad for a Nokia cell phone/PDA which boasted functionality that would allow you to be “at work anywhere.” It showed a woman in a business suit in a train working and said something like “Now you don’t have to wait until you’re in the office to begin work.” The ad disgusted me because the commute is YOUR time. It’s the time to read a book, listen to your iPod, stare out of the window, close your eyes and enjoy a little you time. The thought that this rare opportunity to be disconnected could not be severed from you really troubled me.
I’m glad Ethan re-enforced that message to you. After all, Ferris Bueller said “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” 🙂