Yesterday, I was on my way to The Foundry for an afternoon coffee and to get some work done while spending some time with the folks there. As I exited 281 at Mulberry, I noticed a green SUV in the right lane with the hood up, door opened, and the hazards flashing. I went around the SUV and like any good rubbernecker, craned around to get a look at the people in trouble. In the grass on the side of the road were two young women and two young children. They were sitting on a blanket and looked like they had been sitting there for a while. I turned right...
G-d asked where I was going. I said, "I guess to the next place that I could turn around and get back to them." So that's what I did. I pulled up behind the SUV and turned on my own hazards. I opened the door and climbed out and walked around my car.
"Can I help you with anything or give you a lift to a gas station?"
"No, my sister's on her way. It overheated and we think a hose broke"
"Well, I will never be mistaken for a mechanic, but I do have a cold A/C in my car. Would you all like to just sit in there until your help arrives?"
The two young women and the two young boys piled in as I moved stuff out of the way. We made a little small talk about where we lived and I looked at pictures of one of the boys spiderman toy that he was taking with his aunt's camera.
I talked about my recent travels and how much I loved a gig where my job is to do things to help people.
They asked me a few times, "Do you need to be somewhere or have something your supposed to be doing?"
"Nope. The cool thing about my job is that this is part of it."
I thought to myself... this really is part of it! How awesome is that! This is where I'm supposed to be and this is what I am supposed to be doing!
The two girls were very worried about my time, and I thought how nice it was just to be sitting and offering some comfort. Their sister arrived and I helped push the truck up the road and out of the way.
Time, such an interesting thing. I am usually a very task and goal oriented type of person. Time must be spent and invested in some purpose. This can quickly become a very unhealthy way to live. It has been unhealthy for me before. I have prayed a lot about it though and have been trying to learn more about sabbath. G-d has helped me out in this, but I still have a ways to go. I started reading a book last night by one of the most influential spiritual hearts in contemporary times. It's called simply The Sabbath. Abraham Joshua Heschel was a rabbi born in 1907. He lived to 1972 and his writings are very highly regarded by Christians and Jews. The Sabbath was originally published in 1951 and I only recently picked it up. Because of my lack of time management skills, I have only just begun to read it. The book is only about 100 pages long, but after I read the first three paragraphs for the fifth time I realized that the weight of the book is much more than it appears. The language is not hard to understand, but the ideas and concepts while easily grasped are mind bending and the implications for our everyday life are astounding.
"Technical civilization is man's conquest of space. It is a triumph frequently achieved by sacrificing an essential ingredient, namely, time. In technical civilization, we expend time to gain space. To enhance our power in the world of space is our main objective. Yet to have more does not mean to be more. The power we attain in the world of space terminates abruptly at the borderline of time. But time is the heart of existence."
This is just the first paragraph of the prologue! In the bible, the very first thing to be called Holy is a day. It is not a rock, a mountain, a person, or even G-d himself. It is a specific unit of time: the seventh day. And this day has no influence from the material world. It marks a ceasing of being engulfed by the material. Time and space are inricately connected in our world, but the G-d who created and transcends both first designates time as holy and the designation of a holy place only comes at the request of misguided man.
Helping a few stranded motorists and taking the time out of my day from what I had intended to be doing taught me something very valuable. I can use time for my own gain. I could have been getting stuff done. I, instead, sat for an hour in an unmoving car waving other cars past me and telling stories of how G-d has been helping orphans in Africa and how I was lucky enough to be involved. I have no clue what those girls and the children are doing today and I didn't ask them if they had Jesus in their lives or even ask them to pray with me. I do know that just the chance to share what G-d has done for me is amazing. I do know that those people were touched by G-d's love and that I got to be part of it. I know that that time was precious and holy even though I didn't get anything tangible done. I rejoice in that, even though I feel somewhat uncomfortable sharing it.
G-d asked where I was going. I said, "I guess to the next place that I could turn around and get back to them." So that's what I did. I pulled up behind the SUV and turned on my own hazards. I opened the door and climbed out and walked around my car.
"Can I help you with anything or give you a lift to a gas station?"
"No, my sister's on her way. It overheated and we think a hose broke"
"Well, I will never be mistaken for a mechanic, but I do have a cold A/C in my car. Would you all like to just sit in there until your help arrives?"
The two young women and the two young boys piled in as I moved stuff out of the way. We made a little small talk about where we lived and I looked at pictures of one of the boys spiderman toy that he was taking with his aunt's camera.
I talked about my recent travels and how much I loved a gig where my job is to do things to help people.
They asked me a few times, "Do you need to be somewhere or have something your supposed to be doing?"
"Nope. The cool thing about my job is that this is part of it."
I thought to myself... this really is part of it! How awesome is that! This is where I'm supposed to be and this is what I am supposed to be doing!
The two girls were very worried about my time, and I thought how nice it was just to be sitting and offering some comfort. Their sister arrived and I helped push the truck up the road and out of the way.
Time, such an interesting thing. I am usually a very task and goal oriented type of person. Time must be spent and invested in some purpose. This can quickly become a very unhealthy way to live. It has been unhealthy for me before. I have prayed a lot about it though and have been trying to learn more about sabbath. G-d has helped me out in this, but I still have a ways to go. I started reading a book last night by one of the most influential spiritual hearts in contemporary times. It's called simply The Sabbath. Abraham Joshua Heschel was a rabbi born in 1907. He lived to 1972 and his writings are very highly regarded by Christians and Jews. The Sabbath was originally published in 1951 and I only recently picked it up. Because of my lack of time management skills, I have only just begun to read it. The book is only about 100 pages long, but after I read the first three paragraphs for the fifth time I realized that the weight of the book is much more than it appears. The language is not hard to understand, but the ideas and concepts while easily grasped are mind bending and the implications for our everyday life are astounding.
"Technical civilization is man's conquest of space. It is a triumph frequently achieved by sacrificing an essential ingredient, namely, time. In technical civilization, we expend time to gain space. To enhance our power in the world of space is our main objective. Yet to have more does not mean to be more. The power we attain in the world of space terminates abruptly at the borderline of time. But time is the heart of existence."
This is just the first paragraph of the prologue! In the bible, the very first thing to be called Holy is a day. It is not a rock, a mountain, a person, or even G-d himself. It is a specific unit of time: the seventh day. And this day has no influence from the material world. It marks a ceasing of being engulfed by the material. Time and space are inricately connected in our world, but the G-d who created and transcends both first designates time as holy and the designation of a holy place only comes at the request of misguided man.
Helping a few stranded motorists and taking the time out of my day from what I had intended to be doing taught me something very valuable. I can use time for my own gain. I could have been getting stuff done. I, instead, sat for an hour in an unmoving car waving other cars past me and telling stories of how G-d has been helping orphans in Africa and how I was lucky enough to be involved. I have no clue what those girls and the children are doing today and I didn't ask them if they had Jesus in their lives or even ask them to pray with me. I do know that just the chance to share what G-d has done for me is amazing. I do know that those people were touched by G-d's love and that I got to be part of it. I know that that time was precious and holy even though I didn't get anything tangible done. I rejoice in that, even though I feel somewhat uncomfortable sharing it.
Love it, bro! Spoke to my heart since I have a hard time doing stuff for others when it's not convenient for me. Holy moments... every day! Thanks for sharing my fellow defiler of pagan temples.
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