“Slow Down”, flashed the speed limit detector, as I sped by on the road. I was taking it too fast, not noticing how fast I was going. I was thinking of where I had to be and what I had just come from and probably what I was going to do the next day; that I kind of forgot that I was even driving.
How many times do we rush to get somewhere, rush through our work or rush through a conversation with someone? We bypass so many good things in our life, so many people. It’s like we have horse blinders on, except they’re pointing back at us, so we can only see ourselves, our plan, and the things we need to do.
This can happen a lot in ministry. We get busy; we get pulled in a million different directions, and all we want is some time to ourselves because we’re tired from the all-nighter the night before. It’s so easy to ignore that call from a parent, walk the other way to avoid the homeless person on the street, or “have to miss” a student’s sporting event you said you’d make.
How do we create margin in our life so that we can have more time for people? More time for those random encounters, those sporadic sporting events, or out of the blue phone calls from parents that just want some advice!
Creating that margin might mean saying no to things you’re involved with. It might mean saying yes to a longer walk to the coffee shop because that involves stopping and having a conversation with the homeless man on the bench. It might mean blocking out time for certain tasks at work to complete what is needed that day in order for you to leave work on time. Some of these decisions won’t be easy. But, when you do create margin in your life, you’ll start to see that someone “interrupting” your time is not a thing anymore. It’s just normal day-to-day life.
[ictt-tweet-blockquote]Jesus calls us to love our neighbor, love our enemy; love people! [/ictt-tweet-blockquote]
He’s the ultimate example of pausing for people. We see him pausing for the woman at the well. He stopped and asked her for a drink of water. We see Jesus healing the official’s son when he arrived in Galilee. And later, we see Him pausing to heal the blind man on the side of the road as he was coming into Jericho.
So many more stories can be told about Jesus pausing for people. Stopping to help someone. Stopping to listen to someone. Stopping to teach groups of people. Pausing to have meals with people. He was the ultimate model of a servant. He longed for people to know His father.
So, as youth leaders, as leaders in any way, as followers of Christ; let’s be looking out for those opportunities to love people in all kinds of ways. To look outside of ourselves and see the widow and the orphan first thing; not just when we aren’t in a hurry. To love without borders.
Becca Ebenhoch
Guest Blogger
Becca has done youth ministry in various places across the US and is currently doing youth ministry in Modesto, CA.
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