Flashing By

Lying across the street recently I noticed a cable. I've seen these kinds of cables before. They are placed there by the city to count the number of cars that drive by. It's the city's way of finding how how well traveled a road is. I'm assuming if they find a high figure, they maybe add a lane or create an alternative route to give traffic another flow pattern. Whatever the reason, the city is taking count of the cars that drive by.

On another road I saw a sign flashing the speed limit. As you go by, it flashes the miles per hour you are driving ... only if you are over the speed limit posted in the area. In this area, the speed limit was 25 mph, so when I reached 30, the sign started flashing. My son said, "You're at 30!" So I slowed down immediately.

One device counts the number of people that go by. Another warns them when they've gone by way too fast.

Most recently, I have been preoccupied. It started with the days leading up to our move to a new home from our apartment. We began having guests arrive to help us with our relocation and repairs on the new home. Then came the move. Then all the work involved with unpacking, moving furniture, fixing additional items, sorting, cleaning, etc. In the midst of that, we moved a second load to the house and began the process all over again. As a result, I found myself pushing my devotion time with God away. I'll do it after this ... I'll do it after that... I'll get to it in a little bit, etc. And of course, I wouldn't. My important private time with my Father was taking a backseat to the craziness of the day, over and over again. Were the Lord a cable on the road, He would have seen me pass by countless times. But it wasn't that I needed additional time or an alternative time, I just needed to prioritize it. The warning signs were definitely flashing. I found my stress level increasing. I found my focus skewed. I became irritable, lost, confused, all the time continuing to zip on by.

While attending my first Reunion Group meeting (a Christian accountability group) here in Alabama, I finally noticed the flashing sign. I realized that I needed to discipline myself to be sure to set aside time for the important - the most important - things in my life. My time with God. My husband. My children.

I caught it early, and I'm grateful. Just like my son reminding me about my speed, this group meeting was a reminder to get myself back on track as a Christian. Praise God for other Christians to remind us of our obligations as Jesus explained in Matthew 22:37-40. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

The cable's count of me passing by is about to slow down ... just like the signs warned me to. I've got some prioritizing to do.