I love the idea of blessing others with little things. The trouble is, I’m often so caught up in my To Do list that I miss the chance.
For example, I was late to church last Sunday. When I got there, I remembered that I needed to talk with Greg, so I ran up to him and started talking before I even said “Hi” or asked how he was doing. The worship music cut me off. So I sat in the pew in front of Greg, knowing they play half the song, let us do a meet and greet, then finish the song.
When the song stopped, I talked to Greg about the thing that was on my mind, then the music started back up and I ran to my pew. A song and a half later, I remembered that I hadn’t written my tithe check, so I sat down and did it right then, knowing I might forget otherwise.
Jill’s opportunities to bless people lost:
1. Because I was late, I missed opportunities to say hello to people before church.
2. I missed an opportunity to bless Greg with a kind greeting because I was so set on getting information about his upcoming church event.
3. I missed the opportunity to worship God because I was waiting in that empty pew to talk to Greg, thinking about what I was going to say.
4. I missed the opportunity to stand with my family during worship.
5. I missed the the opportunity to meet and greet others—as did Greg (because of me)—because I was talking business with Greg.
6. And I missed another opportunity to worship while I wrote my tithe check!
Go, go, go, eat, go, go, go, sleep, wake up, go, go go, eat is my lifestyle. I long for life to slow down. To have days where I sit and relax with my family or friends. And I often think that my busyness—and my agenda (the long list of things I need to do that constantly runs through my mind)—sometimes keep me from making a difference to people I come into contact with.
Does this ever happen to you?
What are some ways you slow down?
Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts on this.
Jill, I struggle with the same things. I love the To-Do list, but forget about relationships. I think that’s why God brought a relational man into my life (aka my husband). Between God and Dan, I have learned how important it is to sometimes put the list aside and just be relational.
By the way, love your new website 🙂
My husband is a relational man too! If it wasn’t for him, I might never leave the house–except for writer’s conferences, of course! And I supposed I’d need to go to the grocery store every so often… lol
Thanks for visiting the new website! Your book is almost next on my list! I couldn’t resist and have already read the first several pages. And ever since I did that I’ve been wanting to get back to it! Well done! 🙂
Wow, thanks Jill! I needed to hear something like that to push through the last few chapters I need to edit 🙂