What’s the hurry?!

[Ambassador_of_Hope]

Day 39 Being There

I sit down early at the conference table, and leave the chair open to my right. I started writing “The Big Five” from memory on my legal pad before each staff meeting. “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.” Proverbs 10:19 “He who answers before listening, that is his folly and his shame.” Proverbs 18:17 I keep writing until Proverbs 18:13, 20:5 and 18:2 are all on paper before me. With the influence of these scriptures, I have a fighting chance to listen and discover how others think and feel. Due to the pressures of life and a mind that bounces ideas and implications around like charged atoms, being present is a challenge. My previous philosophy, “you can do it all” was most unhelpful, influencing my absence and intermittent engagement. Over seven years ago I adopted a new and worthy philosophy and goal, “What’s the hurry?!”

One grace of God in my life is, a number of years ago I started fighting with my absence in an attempt to tame my selfish ambition and sinful defaults. Three months ago my elderly father’s independence ceased following a pontine stroke. A month later, after hospitalization and acute rehab, he transitioned to our home, dependent on others for his care and safety. At breakfast and dinner I often sit to his right, listening to what’s important to him. It is an opportunity for me to learn to be more like my Lord and Savior, who holds my right hand, carry’s me when I am weak and whose Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. And I remember that I am never alone, never too weak, and there’s always a path. What a friend we have in Jesus.

10/4/2022
Dave Dassoulas
dave@hopebuilders.com