So Much Hurry!

I went out for a drive today.  It’s very nice…about 70 degrees this late January day, so I took a spin in the pickup out to some of the more rural parts of Sedgwick County.  Oh, I know, there really is NO real rural area in this county, but there are wheat fields, some livestock, farmsteads, and some real dirt roads out there.  I found a couple of them.

Having the window down and the radio off, I soaked in the warmth and the scenery.  Admittedly, there isn’t as much of that in winter as in the other seasons of the year, but there were some things to see.  And the traffic, even in the rural areas was more than I thought it might be.  I’m not sure if it was because it was a nice day, or school was out and people were going home, or what.

It seemed like, though, that they were all in a hurry.  Now, maybe I was going a little too slowly…I went the speed limit where posted, and went about 40mph on the unpaved, washboardy roads.  But it seemed like folks just were in too much of a hurry today.  I don’t have a clue what was so important that they had to speed around me to get there, or impatiently wait behind me until I turned, they turned, or could pass.

You know, it seems like the world is in a hurry.  Not just the people this afternoon.  Everyone wants the line to move quickly, the food to heat right away, and instant coffee out of the Keurig.  Everyone wants their web page to load in ½ second or less, and they all want to be able to have green lights all the way.

Could it be…could it be that we hurry ourselves and busy ourselves intentionally, so we won’t have the time to stop and think?  Could it be that as long as we are distracted by busy-ness, we don’t have to think about the societal issues of the day, the world situation, and our own mortality and brokenness?  Could it be that if we have a few minutes alone with ourselves, quietly, we become nervous, unsettled, and even a little afraid?  Could it be that we’re trying to keep the wolf at bay by being busy?  That we can put off the time of reckoning, so to speak, and not have to be honest with ourselves or ponder the questions of, “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” “Where am I going?”

And maybe that’s why I sometimes like the quiet and the out-of-the-way.  I don’t mind pondering those questions because I know who I am.  I know why I am here.  And I know where I am going.  Because I’m an adopted child of the Living God of Heaven and Earth, I know the answers to those questions.  I’m not afraid to address them.  And I’m not nervously trying to put off the next chapter in my life through busy-ness.

I’m not perfect.  I have issues.  I don’t like to think about homelessness, human trafficking, and other societal ills.  I don’t like to hear about war, starvation, or genocide.  But I know enough to know that those things, one day, will be no more.  I know that I will be a part of that great crowd from every tribe, every tongue, every people, and every nation that surrounds the throne of God.

This turned out to be a much more “religious” post than I originally planned for it to be.  So be it.  This is the reality.  To not write about it would be to do a disservice to you and to me.  So, take it or leave it…but make no mistake.  We WILL all one day know the answers to those eternal questions…if we don’t know now, we will in a time to come.  And the answer in the time to come just may not be what we want to hear.

Time to Man Up

I am amazed at the number of times I read or hear about someone colliding with another motorist, someone on a bicycle, or someone walking alongside the road, and then leaves the scene of the accident.  It happened again last night in Wichita.  Someone hit a person on a bicycle and fled the scene.  That person is in serious condition at a hospital.

My wife says I shouldn’t be so amazed; that the culture of self is alive and well; that it doesn’t take much to turn a person into someone very self-centered and, well, let’s just say it…ugly.

There could be any number of reasons why someone would choose to leave the scene of an accident and leave a victim lying on the roadway or in the ditch, injured or perhaps dead.  The perp could be driving illegally, not have a license, be driving a stolen vehicle, not have insurance, or be wanted on a warrant.  He/she could be inebriated by drugs or alcohol and either not realize he hit someone or the drugs make him not care.

The perp could just be selfish enough to not have any moral scruples about human life and obedience to the law.  Or he/she could be scared and not thinking right.  Whatever the reason, it is really no reason at all.

Ravi Zacharias, Christian apologist and speaker, says that without acknowledgment of a higher power and transcendent moral code, there is no rational moral foundation upon which to build one’s world view.  Those who disagree say that morality is inherent within the human being and society through evolution and does not need a transcendent being to exist.

I’d ask you to take a look around and tell me what you honestly think.  Where did our moral foundation come from?  Why is it wrong to murder?  Rape?  Rob?  What difference does it make if I do those things if there is no overarching moral code and moral lawgiver to hold me accountable?  What difference does it make if I drive illegally and hit someone walking on the side of the road?  Who says that is wrong?  Where does that come from?

What would life be like if everyone had their own moral code?  What kind of society would we live in?  How safe would you be in this society?  How secure would your children be venturing out beyond the boundaries of home?

Let’s take that down a notch or two.  What if everyone had their own set of traffic laws and rules that they followed for themselves?  What if some drove 35, some 65 and some 95 on Kellogg Avenue?  What if some stayed within the lines and some didn’t?  What if some went on green lights and some on red?  I think you’re probably saying something to the effect that these things are happening right now.  And you’re right.  And daily, we see the effects of this kind of thinking; wrecked vehicles and mangled bodies.

Everyone makes mistakes.  Everyone from time to time misses that car coming from the side street.  Everyone sometimes becomes distracted and fails to see a pedestrian or cyclist.  Most of the time, nothing bad happens.  But when it does, it’s time to “man up” (regardless of one’s gender) and own the situation.  It’s time to step up and admit an error.  It’s time to make right the wrong that one has created.  Selfishness and self-centeredness never fails to bite the hand that feeds it…never fails to get its due.

Time for a Nap

Sometimes, it pays to be a little more careful.

I am “baching” it tonight as the wife is doing orientation for adjunct nursing faculty this evening.  So in fixing supper (many call it dinner…I never did), which I do regularly, I got out a piece of beef from the freezer and quick-thawed in a pan on the stove.  Having watched it religiously, once it was thawed (I was able to stick a fork into it), I turned it to what I thought was a nice, simmering temperature, added a little water, covered it, and left it to finish cooking.

I was in the basement doing some things when the smoke alarms suddenly went off in the house.  They are connected together, so when one goes, they all go.  Assuming the issue was upstairs, as I went up the steps, I could smell the obvious odor of beef that was overcooked.

I got the smoking pan off of the stove and calmed it down quickly.  The noise soon went off as well.  I went through the haze to the garage, got a box fan, set it in a window in the living room, and turned it on exhaust, while opening the sliding door on the opposite side of the house.

It didn’t take long for most of the haze and smell to go away, but I know we’ll smell this for the next 24 hours or so as our house is very tight.

Now, I know I should have stayed up in the kitchen and monitored the stove.  After all, it was my supper that was in danger of overcooking, and I should have been more careful.  But I’d done this many times before and it always turned out OK.  What happened tonight I’m not sure as I turned the stove off quickly before stopping to look where I had really put the control.

I do know a couple of things, though.  First, the smoke alarms work just fine.  Second, it doesn’t take much to blacken meat instead of brown it.  Third, the exhaust fan routine works pretty well.

So there you have it.  An evening without the wife here and all this excitement.  I think it’s time for a nap now…