Tragedy avoided: I didn't spill my Bojangles!
I pulled into my parking spot at the church this morning and I noticed the white cross in front of my parking space had fallen. It was not big deal. It has fallen before because it is stuck in white gravel not into the ground. In the past I simply dug a small hole with my foot to place the cross in. Then I used the same foot to move the gravel around the cross so it will once again stand up. That was my game plan when I got out of my car.
I walked up to the cross with my phone and large ice tea in one hand. I had my keys, my Bojangles bag and my wallet in my other hand. Now, I don't usually go around carry my keys, phone
or wallet in my hands. When I bought my phone case it came with a nice clip that I wear on my side. Most of the time that is where I keep it when it is not in use. This morning the line at Bojangles was a little slow so I checked my email while waiting. When I got my food I tossed my phone in the seat with my food and drove away. I have a habit of when I go through a drive through of not putting my wallet back into my pocket until after getting out of the car. Why do I do this? I don't know. I usually keep my keys in my pocket also but when I get out of my car at the church I keep them in my hand since I will need them to unlock the door in a few steps.
So my hands were full because I was so concentrated on putting the cross up I did not take the few seconds it would take to put my phone and wallet back where they belong. I could of put my keys in my pocket too. It isn't like it is a lot of work to put them in a pocket and get them back out. I could of laid my food and drink down while working on the cross but that thought never came to my mind. I could of put everything I was carrying except my drink into my Bojangles bag and that would of freed my hands up some. Instead, I attempted to do my simple task with full hands.
So I bent down to pick up the cross and I quickly realized I didn't have a hand free. This realization should have told me to put something down but it didn't. The smell of the bacon on my Cajun Fillet Club Sandwich had me in a hurry. So I move my phone to the same hand as the keys, bag and wallet. This freed up two fingers on my left hand that I was able to grab the cross with but over loaded the already overloaded right hand. Luckily my feet were working this morning. I got the hole dug and placed the cross in the hole. This was the point all the trouble started.
In the past, when putting the cross back up I held it with one hand and placed the other hand on top of the cross to push it down deeper into the gravel. That is a very simple task when both hands are free. This is a very complicated task when both hands are full. I tried to move the food to my chest to free up a few fingers to push the cross with. I thought if I hugged my food I could use the fingers I was holding the bag with to press on the cross. At the time it seemed logical. What I failed to consider was how hard and how awkward of an angle I would have to put my body in to be able to hold the cross with one hand, hug my food, and hold the cross with the other hand. I finally got into the proper angle with all hands/fingers in place to hold and press the cross. As I started to push I quickly realized I was squashing my food so I tried to loosen the grip on my bag of food. To get the pressure needed on the cross while not putting pressure on my food I had to lean into an even more awkward angle which caused my grip on my food bad to loosen to much.
Everything went into slow motion. It seemed that bag of Bojangles was dropping at a rate of an inch a minute. I knew I couldn't let go of my Bojangles' World famous sweet tea to grab the food. My only hope was the bag would land right side up so I wouldn't loose any of those tasty seasoning fries. I held my breath as my bag continued to fall. It seemed like it took an hour for the bag to hit the groud but when it did, it was right side up. I let out a "Whooo" and finished putting the cross back up. I grabbed my food and rushed in to eat it.
As I ate I laughed at how hard I made a simple task because I didn't want to let go of anything. It wasn't like I was going to put my keys away and never be able to use them. It wasn't like I didn't have a proper place for my phone. It wasn't like I didn't have an opportunity to return my wallet to its proper place. I even had a chance to do all of that once I realized how hard it was going to be to do my task with my hands full. It almost cost me my breakfast.
I have and you have done the same thing in our Christian life. We could do what God has asked us to do some much easier if we will put away all of the distractions. Instead, we try to hold on to the things of the world while serving God. Jesus told us we couldn't do that. He told us we couldn't serve two masters because we would end up loving one and hating the other. It isn't like we have to give up our hobbies. We can still play sports, fish, shop, read, exercise, cook, collect stamps or what ever else your hobby is. It isn't like you can't have goals in your life outside of church like get promoted at work, having a family, remodel your house or what ever you are working for. What it means is when it is time to serve the Lord we should give Him our full attention and effort, hands free and ready to work. We can do what He asks of us better, with less effort and with no risk of spilling our blessings when we put all the other things in their proper place.
So Christians, let's put everything in its proper place so we can complete the tasks God has asks us to do. The scriptures tell us if we seek first the Kingdom of God that everything else will follow. Meaning God will take care of everything else if we seek His will first. So let's put down those things that weigh us down and keep our hands to full to do His will. Let's use our hands for His work and allow Him to take care of everything else. In the end we will get blessings even greater than Bojangles.
Parting Thought: Going to sleep on Sunday nights will cause Monday to happen.
I walked up to the cross with my phone and large ice tea in one hand. I had my keys, my Bojangles bag and my wallet in my other hand. Now, I don't usually go around carry my keys, phone
So my hands were full because I was so concentrated on putting the cross up I did not take the few seconds it would take to put my phone and wallet back where they belong. I could of put my keys in my pocket too. It isn't like it is a lot of work to put them in a pocket and get them back out. I could of laid my food and drink down while working on the cross but that thought never came to my mind. I could of put everything I was carrying except my drink into my Bojangles bag and that would of freed my hands up some. Instead, I attempted to do my simple task with full hands.
So I bent down to pick up the cross and I quickly realized I didn't have a hand free. This realization should have told me to put something down but it didn't. The smell of the bacon on my Cajun Fillet Club Sandwich had me in a hurry. So I move my phone to the same hand as the keys, bag and wallet. This freed up two fingers on my left hand that I was able to grab the cross with but over loaded the already overloaded right hand. Luckily my feet were working this morning. I got the hole dug and placed the cross in the hole. This was the point all the trouble started.
In the past, when putting the cross back up I held it with one hand and placed the other hand on top of the cross to push it down deeper into the gravel. That is a very simple task when both hands are free. This is a very complicated task when both hands are full. I tried to move the food to my chest to free up a few fingers to push the cross with. I thought if I hugged my food I could use the fingers I was holding the bag with to press on the cross. At the time it seemed logical. What I failed to consider was how hard and how awkward of an angle I would have to put my body in to be able to hold the cross with one hand, hug my food, and hold the cross with the other hand. I finally got into the proper angle with all hands/fingers in place to hold and press the cross. As I started to push I quickly realized I was squashing my food so I tried to loosen the grip on my bag of food. To get the pressure needed on the cross while not putting pressure on my food I had to lean into an even more awkward angle which caused my grip on my food bad to loosen to much.
Everything went into slow motion. It seemed that bag of Bojangles was dropping at a rate of an inch a minute. I knew I couldn't let go of my Bojangles' World famous sweet tea to grab the food. My only hope was the bag would land right side up so I wouldn't loose any of those tasty seasoning fries. I held my breath as my bag continued to fall. It seemed like it took an hour for the bag to hit the groud but when it did, it was right side up. I let out a "Whooo" and finished putting the cross back up. I grabbed my food and rushed in to eat it.
As I ate I laughed at how hard I made a simple task because I didn't want to let go of anything. It wasn't like I was going to put my keys away and never be able to use them. It wasn't like I didn't have a proper place for my phone. It wasn't like I didn't have an opportunity to return my wallet to its proper place. I even had a chance to do all of that once I realized how hard it was going to be to do my task with my hands full. It almost cost me my breakfast.
I have and you have done the same thing in our Christian life. We could do what God has asked us to do some much easier if we will put away all of the distractions. Instead, we try to hold on to the things of the world while serving God. Jesus told us we couldn't do that. He told us we couldn't serve two masters because we would end up loving one and hating the other. It isn't like we have to give up our hobbies. We can still play sports, fish, shop, read, exercise, cook, collect stamps or what ever else your hobby is. It isn't like you can't have goals in your life outside of church like get promoted at work, having a family, remodel your house or what ever you are working for. What it means is when it is time to serve the Lord we should give Him our full attention and effort, hands free and ready to work. We can do what He asks of us better, with less effort and with no risk of spilling our blessings when we put all the other things in their proper place.
So Christians, let's put everything in its proper place so we can complete the tasks God has asks us to do. The scriptures tell us if we seek first the Kingdom of God that everything else will follow. Meaning God will take care of everything else if we seek His will first. So let's put down those things that weigh us down and keep our hands to full to do His will. Let's use our hands for His work and allow Him to take care of everything else. In the end we will get blessings even greater than Bojangles.
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Parting Thought: Going to sleep on Sunday nights will cause Monday to happen.
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