Oh yes, here's the "need-vs-want" sermon. But it's everywhere. In fact, the other day a friend posted a comment on Facebook that she "needed" a massage at a local day spa. Seriously? I mean, tell that to the old lady who came to the food pantry last month and said that she could only take food that she could eat out of her car, which was also her current home. She doesn't have friction, she has hardship. But she does need someone to get off their sectional and step out into the "friction zone" to help her.
Oh yes, I am guilty of it, too. I love to sit and simply have "my time." Do nothing. But those "nothing credits" begin to add up. And before you know it you start to really believe that life is about nothing. That you are about nothing. Antidepressant sales just jumped.
I remember years ago when I was on a 2-day 150-mile bike ride for the Lung Association. We were riding into Loyola in Chicago and the temperature had plummeted into the low 30's. I was crossing an overpass when my rear tire blew. I was so cold and my hands were so numb that I had trouble changing the spare. A "sag wagon" picked me up and the nurse in the passenger's seat said, "Got another one who's hypothermiating!" As I looked at the other two frigid riders who sat in the back of the van with me all we could do was smile. And eventually we started laughing. I remember that it was a great, wonderful laugh! We could have been back in our living rooms drinking beer and eating Frito's. But instead, we sat there cold, wet and hungry. We willingly stepped into the friction zone to raise money for a worthy cause. I will remember that afternoon for a very long time.
I'm not sure why we avoid the friction zone. Again, I'm quite guilty, too. Maybe because it takes effort, consumes personal time, and can be too easily "reasoned away." But I think I'm going to step into it more often from now on. When I do so I am able to really write the memorable chapters of my life. I'd like to tell God someday that I did more "somethings" than "nothings."
Oh yes, I am guilty of it, too. I love to sit and simply have "my time." Do nothing. But those "nothing credits" begin to add up. And before you know it you start to really believe that life is about nothing. That you are about nothing. Antidepressant sales just jumped.
I remember years ago when I was on a 2-day 150-mile bike ride for the Lung Association. We were riding into Loyola in Chicago and the temperature had plummeted into the low 30's. I was crossing an overpass when my rear tire blew. I was so cold and my hands were so numb that I had trouble changing the spare. A "sag wagon" picked me up and the nurse in the passenger's seat said, "Got another one who's hypothermiating!" As I looked at the other two frigid riders who sat in the back of the van with me all we could do was smile. And eventually we started laughing. I remember that it was a great, wonderful laugh! We could have been back in our living rooms drinking beer and eating Frito's. But instead, we sat there cold, wet and hungry. We willingly stepped into the friction zone to raise money for a worthy cause. I will remember that afternoon for a very long time.
I'm not sure why we avoid the friction zone. Again, I'm quite guilty, too. Maybe because it takes effort, consumes personal time, and can be too easily "reasoned away." But I think I'm going to step into it more often from now on. When I do so I am able to really write the memorable chapters of my life. I'd like to tell God someday that I did more "somethings" than "nothings."
