WACKY WEDNESDAY WISDOM: The Road Ahead Can Wait

      It happened a number of years ago but I can still remember the events of that day clearly. As you may know, I have three sons. The event in question took place in the life of one of them. I will not name him directly in order to maintain his pride and dignity. Plus he might concoct some sort of "get even" situation with dad if I revealed his identity in relation to this particular incident. 

     My first inkling that something unusual had occurred was when my gentlemanly neighbor Bob called my home phone and asked if my pre-adolescent son was okay. "Last time I checked he was fine," I answered, without realizing I hadn't checked on him lately. Father of the Year I was not. 

     Bob began to explain that he had witnessed my son crash head on into his (Bob's) mailbox while riding his (my son's) bicycle. Being the kind and gentle neighbor he was, Bob insisted that he wasn't concerned about the mailbox- which he claimed had been easily placed back in its proper position. "I'm not worried about the mailbox, I just want to make sure your son is okay," emphasized he. 

     After asking Bob to hold for a moment, I stepped into my son's room where he was playing some sort of video game and inquired as to the condition of his personal health. He seemed fine and claimed to be okay so I returned to the phone and shared the good news with Bob. 

    "That's a relief," declared Bob, "because he hit the mailbox going full speed." "How could that happen?", I wondered out loud. "Well," said Bob, "It could have something to do with the fact he was pedaling hard and looking through a pair of binoculars when the collision occurred. I don't think he ever knew what hit him. Next thing I know he, the bicycle, and the mailbox were all flailing around in my front yard. It was a sight to behold."

     I bet it was. I hate I missed it. 

     I think sometimes we, like my son, get caught up in looking too far ahead in life when what's most important is what's right smack dab in front of us in the here and now. We worry about the future, which is fruitless, because we can't control the future- we can only do something about the now. We overlook the lessons in the waiting room while impatiently anticipating getting in to see the doctor. Maybe our focus on the destination up ahead of us robs us of the miracles happening at our feet on the path beneath us. 

     The Bible says in Matthew 6:24 to "not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself" and in Hebrews 12:2, it says to "keep your eyes fixed on Jesus". 

     I don't know what the future holds in my life. I'm trying to enjoy every stage of life as much as possible, and not wish away any part of it by trying to rush toward the next phase. I have no desire to return to the past despite the many blessings it has afforded me. And I'm not counting down the days until my sons eventually marry and hopefully turn me into a grandpa. I look forward to those possibilities but to dwell on things like that in the meantime  wouldn't be productive. It would be like traveling around looking through binoculars. Not the best way to live unless you want to end up flailing around in your neighbor's front yard.