Oops. I Almost Missed Zaccheaus

It’s begun! Lent is officially here, and with that we try to get closer to God and walk in His light. Usually, by giving up something that we indulge in or are addicted to, we try and close the gap between Him and us. Now, this has had me (CA) really searching the last couple of days high and low to find something that I could meaningfully remove from my routine to try and walk a little more like Jesus. With no answer, I used lifelines; asking others for some great idea that would strike an epiphany. Even with great council I still couldn’t come up with one. I did what usually works best: said a little prayer and went on with the day! Well, joyfully, my answer came. It wasn’t exactly under the circumstances I had expected.

I awoke to a start this morning. No alarm, no phone, but the honking of the team van. I was suppose to have been ready and packed for an 11 day road trip. Sad to say, I was neither. I literally was throwing everything off the floor out of the draws and closet into my travel bag, hoping I got all the necessities. But as the van pulled away from the house it hit me like a ton of bricks-- IPOD!! Then, on my first flight, I realized how much I listen to it and how much I zone out the world and the people around me when I use it. This has become even more apparent as I watch my teammates’ interaction, or lack of, since we began our trip.

How effective would Jesus have been if he had just walked around zoning people out? Pretty sure he would have missed Zacchaeus in the tree! So with the iPod gone, I'm working on being more open to the people around me during Lent. Didn't actually come up with it on my own, but I think He led me right into this one. So what is everybody else giving up?

Customer Service

Recently I (CA) have been living out of travel bags and suitcases, having been on the road constantly since the middle of January. I have been stuck in a couple of really bad storms, including the snow and ice that hit Dallas right before Super Bowl. In addition I’ve tolerated some of the most horrific layovers and delays and flights that you could imagine, including leaving Bismarck, flying to Detroit, then flying to Salt Lake City. Now I'm sure I took geography and passed but that's going east to get west! In spite of all of this inconvenience, I have worked tirelessly to try and stay positive, keep a smile on my face and be easy going. In the past I have been known to get upset with the airlines from time to time; definitely losing my temper. Nobody is perfect, but I'm working on it. I know that change isn't easy and that it takes time and a lot of effort to make changes become habits. But I have noticed that my efforts aren't going in vain. Customer service representatives seem much nicer and a lot more helpful; quite possibly due to the fact that I'm not growling at them (even if it was their fault).

Influence! Random, I know, but what influence are you having on the people around you: positive and up-lifting or negative and painful? Are you leading by example or setting a bad example? Are you leading people in the right direction or breeding hate and anger? Throughout Psalms and the New Testament, the Bible talks about loving one another, along with loving thy neighbor. Jesus tells us to be accepting of people, not judging them. How many of us can honestly say we have been perfect in this endeavor?  Consider using patience with that one very annoying co-worker or being nice to the person you meet at the supermarket that bangs your chart or the person at the exchange counter at the mall that won't refund the full-price. It’s such a small thing. Yet, among the more important Christian teachings, kindness seems to be one of the most overlooked.  We fall so short on this one. It’s so simple; and really, how much effort does it take?

Nobody is perfect … Well, there was that one guy that walked on water.