Sometimes, you don't realize where you are until you're there. Driving from South Houston to Galveston today, I realized a few things ...
- Galveston is actually an island in and of itself.
- I've heard of Galveston lots in my lifetime.
- The vein I've heard of Galveston in is always relative to bad weather.
- There is only one main transportation artery onto and off the island - the I-45.
- The I-45 was a parking lot before Hurricane Rita hit, right after Hurricane Katrina, with BOTH the north and southbound lanes opened for NORTHbound traffic.
At the same time, I was listening to my second book on this trip. It's called "Leading With A Limp". Been on my book radar for a while and I was able to get it cheap on CD.
Author Dan Allender asserts in the book that God always uses leaders with problems and issues in their lives. How true it is! Moses, Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Saul, David, Solomon, Peter, and Paul. Read 'em and weep!
When I saw those signs on the freeway, Allender was talking about how "busy-ness is the moral equivalent of laziness that often serves as a mask for other issues." That really strikes home for me.
You know. The phone rings, and the first question the caller asks is, "Are you busy?" What do you say? "NO! I was just sitting here waiting for you to call"? Our answer ... I'm sorry ... MY answer is usually filled with a string of recently done or almost completed projects, hoping that it gives the caller a sense of how important I am.
One result of such behavior is that we keep our wheels spinning endlessly without reprieve for fear that someone will get the idea that we don't have enough to do. God forbid that we should reserve some energy or time for family, friends, or the at times necessary emergency or unexpected occurrence.
There it is again ... "Hurricane Season is here. Keep your gas tank full." Earlier in the book, Allender talks of how filled life is with the unexpected, loss and grief. It's important to realize that we need margins in our our lives AND to live reasonably with our limitations ... our limps ... our imperfections.
Unrealistic expectations we have of ourselves and sometimes of others leads us down dangerous and painful roads. Pain, disappointment, discouragement and disillusion is inevitable in life. Not everything turns out the way we thought it would. King among them is ourselves.
In general, I think we hold expectations of ourselves that Jesus never asked us to carry. Hurricane Season is here. Sounds like LIFE to me. Life is like a never-ending Hurricane Season. That's why it's important to keep your gas tank full.
How are your expectations of yourself? What are your reserves like ... emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually?
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