The weather has been crazy lately. For about a week last month the wind was extremely gusty in northern Ohio. Everything that wasn’t tied down needed to be brought in. Lawn chairs, toys and small children were fair game to the sudden gusts and undercurrents of air. Every day it felt as if a huge thunderstorm was on the verge of cutting loose, but the rain just never came.
On one of those days I drove to the grocery store to pick up a few items but before going in I decided to eat my lunch. I parked in a secluded section of the lot and was almost done with my salad when all of a sudden something slammed right into my car door. I jerked my head around fully expecting to see an over-sized vintage car with a little old lady peeking out over the wheel. A bit of anger mixed with my surprise when I saw that the projectile was just a measly little grocery cart, recklessly abandoned. That single runaway cart was propelled from absolutely nowhere and somehow drawn to MY car like a magnet. What are the odds?
Afterwards, when I showed my friends the size of the dent and told them the story, they couldn’t believe a small cart like that could have such an impact. I have since then endearingly referred to the cart as Charlie, because even a pitiful grocery cart can be used for a lesson.
I generally reflect on potential lessons God is trying to teach me when incidents like this happen. Therefore, I went through my mental check list of the usual topics but, we all know, God is NOT usual.
I'm sure most of us would like to have at least one mountain-top-impact experience...our 15 minutes of fame...a point in time where we can look back and know we were instrumental in changing the world. It would be great to be able to say I did something spectacular, saved millions of lives or invented the invention of all time. Indeed, it is wonderful to visit museums filled with tributes to historic icons. Many times they were ordinary stubborn people who were just plain old sick and tired of injustices and stood their ground. Others changed the world with imagination, hard work and late hours. More time was spent in the valley with failed experiments and suffering than on any mountain. Those heroes learned their steadfastness, skills and heroic ideals from other ordinary stubborn people who inspired and sacrificed. No hero becomes a hero by themselves.
OK, I'm content with the idea that I may never rock the world, but I can still rock the boat. I WANT to be an inspiration to a potential hero. But how? Relationships. God surrounds us with family, friends and even enemies to cultivate our personalities. It's symbiotic. We all teach and we all learn. Christ wants us to encourage, be honest, and thrive in relationships. Through those relationships, our character is strengthened. We learn to shut up and to speak up. We learn to be sensitive to each other’s needs and develop passion. We learn to laugh, to morn, support and pray from examples set before us. He allows us to fall and to fail and then learn love, forgiveness, and compassion. Every generation challenges the next, one person at a time, to live like His love is true. The lasting affect we have on someone's life could come from a simple word of kindness, or the result of consistent intertwined relationships. We are always setting examples, good and bad, for all to see. We are constantly cultivating heroes with our actions. I want to be one of those people who leaves a lasting impression on lives. I want to be proof that God's Grace is real.
Charlie’s wild ride was not by his choice. He had no free will, an inanimate object whipped around by the wind. But, WE do. As Christians, we choose the wild ride. We choose to serve, to be available, to love and to impact lives in any way possible. We choose to be propelled by God’s Spirit, never holding back. We are joyously expectant in the vision we have been given whether it lands us in the spotlight or not. We want to give it all we have, land where we land and, through faith, inspire those near us to know Christ…who are then propelled and land where they land.
I appreciate Charlie the Cart's reminder, despite our abrupt run-in. Let us all live recklessly abandoned, to be a runaway overcome by the wind, to take risks and anticipate the bumps and bruises. Let's Live Like That.
On one of those days I drove to the grocery store to pick up a few items but before going in I decided to eat my lunch. I parked in a secluded section of the lot and was almost done with my salad when all of a sudden something slammed right into my car door. I jerked my head around fully expecting to see an over-sized vintage car with a little old lady peeking out over the wheel. A bit of anger mixed with my surprise when I saw that the projectile was just a measly little grocery cart, recklessly abandoned. That single runaway cart was propelled from absolutely nowhere and somehow drawn to MY car like a magnet. What are the odds?
Afterwards, when I showed my friends the size of the dent and told them the story, they couldn’t believe a small cart like that could have such an impact. I have since then endearingly referred to the cart as Charlie, because even a pitiful grocery cart can be used for a lesson.
I generally reflect on potential lessons God is trying to teach me when incidents like this happen. Therefore, I went through my mental check list of the usual topics but, we all know, God is NOT usual.
- Even though I had to go inside the store and report the incident, contact the insurance company and arrange the repair, the process was a minor annoyance and everything went surprisingly smoothly. So, my patience wasn’t tested. Check.
- My insurance covered all the costs. So my checkbook wasn’t tested. Check.
- My rather new car was now damaged but it didn’t really bother me. So, my attachment to favorite things wasn’t the issue. Check.
- No one was hurt, so I was guilt free and my emotions didn’t get a workout. Check.
I'm sure most of us would like to have at least one mountain-top-impact experience...our 15 minutes of fame...a point in time where we can look back and know we were instrumental in changing the world. It would be great to be able to say I did something spectacular, saved millions of lives or invented the invention of all time. Indeed, it is wonderful to visit museums filled with tributes to historic icons. Many times they were ordinary stubborn people who were just plain old sick and tired of injustices and stood their ground. Others changed the world with imagination, hard work and late hours. More time was spent in the valley with failed experiments and suffering than on any mountain. Those heroes learned their steadfastness, skills and heroic ideals from other ordinary stubborn people who inspired and sacrificed. No hero becomes a hero by themselves.
OK, I'm content with the idea that I may never rock the world, but I can still rock the boat. I WANT to be an inspiration to a potential hero. But how? Relationships. God surrounds us with family, friends and even enemies to cultivate our personalities. It's symbiotic. We all teach and we all learn. Christ wants us to encourage, be honest, and thrive in relationships. Through those relationships, our character is strengthened. We learn to shut up and to speak up. We learn to be sensitive to each other’s needs and develop passion. We learn to laugh, to morn, support and pray from examples set before us. He allows us to fall and to fail and then learn love, forgiveness, and compassion. Every generation challenges the next, one person at a time, to live like His love is true. The lasting affect we have on someone's life could come from a simple word of kindness, or the result of consistent intertwined relationships. We are always setting examples, good and bad, for all to see. We are constantly cultivating heroes with our actions. I want to be one of those people who leaves a lasting impression on lives. I want to be proof that God's Grace is real.
Charlie’s wild ride was not by his choice. He had no free will, an inanimate object whipped around by the wind. But, WE do. As Christians, we choose the wild ride. We choose to serve, to be available, to love and to impact lives in any way possible. We choose to be propelled by God’s Spirit, never holding back. We are joyously expectant in the vision we have been given whether it lands us in the spotlight or not. We want to give it all we have, land where we land and, through faith, inspire those near us to know Christ…who are then propelled and land where they land.
I appreciate Charlie the Cart's reminder, despite our abrupt run-in. Let us all live recklessly abandoned, to be a runaway overcome by the wind, to take risks and anticipate the bumps and bruises. Let's Live Like That.
