As I looked around wildly, my heart rate increased, my vision became blurry, and sweat appeared on my face. Pain shot down my arm as my stress level rose to its limit. I gripped the wheel tightly, thinking, “There is not even a good place to turn around nearby!”
This morning did not feel any different than other morning. Gavin exits the house to get on the school bus, shower, brush teeth, dress, kiss Kim goodbye, etc. Nothing felt wrong. I sped away from the house, hoping to make it through the school zone BEFORE the yellow lights began flashing. As I waited at a traffic light, I thought, “Where’s my phone? I need to check in on the world, and make sure that everyone made it through the night without my help.”
Console... Seat... Back pocket... Front pocket... No phone...
Wait!! NO PHONE?!?! Panic!! How can I make it five minutes without my phone?!?! Anyone who knows me at all, knows that my phone is always with me. In fact, there is a Bible verse about our relationship. ‘...so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
How had I managed to leave it at home?
1. I varied from my normal routine.
I have a habit of keeping my ‘pocket items’ together in one place. When I go to bed, I ensure that the following items are in order for the morning: wallet, keys, phone, wedding ring, watch, & pen. (What a nerd!)
However, last night, as I came home from the gym, I realized that I had left my wallet in the truck. Rather than retrieving it right then, I made the decision to leave it there, since I would be getting right back in the truck this morning. As a result, I subconsciously knew that some items would be missing from my pockets this morning, so I was not concerned with the incomplete feeling.
2. I did not inventory the most important things.
Though I knew I was not following my normal routine, I did not take the extra time to inventory the important things. It is impossible to maintain control of the important things if you do not know where they are.
I was missing something vital to the productivity of my day, but in my rush to ACHIEVE, I was totally unaware of its absence.
If we do not maintain control of the important things, we can move through life and simply not know what we are missing. It happens more frequently that we would like to admit.
In our marriages... With our children... Our relationship with God...
And, as with me this morning, nothing feels wrong! I did not know what I was missing until I NEEDED it.
Each valuable item in our lives has a purpose. It might not be useful to us in the current moment, but there will come a day when we need it desperately. There are people, relationships, and commitments to God, that may just seem like another routine or ritual today, but their absence could prove to be devastating.
Stop what you are doing and inventory your life, your marriage, your relationship with God.
In your rush to achieve, is it all there? Do you have everything?
Do you know what you are missing?
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