You know what a mirage is right? That hazy, blurry image of on the horizon. You’re not quite sure if it’s something real, something tangible or if it’s a figment of your imagination, a distant hope…
For the Potter family, life is a bit like a mirage right now. The events that unfold in our days cause time to pass so quickly that we often wonder, “Did that just happen?”, “No, wait, that was two weeks ago already!” Can you empathize with us?
These last few weeks have been filled with an unexpectedly busy semester here at NTBI, several speaking opportunities at local churches, a quick trip to the Chicago area to represent NTBI at a national AWANA Summit, the final throes of packing Lynn’s home and planning for our own big move.
The aspirations I hold to communicate about the significant things that we learn in the midst of these experiences can’t beat the constant barrage of time going by. So, life feels a bit mirage-like. The most important thing right now though, is not slowing the pace down, not better time management, but better rest! No, not physical rest (though on this warm summerish afternoon, I long to lay down for a quick nap on the green grass just outside my window), but spiritual rest. It’s a state where instead of trying to fit more in, to get up earlier, to check off my “to-do” items, I settle my anxious mind on the truth that in all things, busy or not, my Lord would have me to gaze at Him and and let that gaze be a filter that I evaluate everything else with.
We can’t control the passage of time, but we can choose to look all around us, to be aware of the people around us, to be sober minded in our interactions, to bring Glory to God rather than simply sit in the backseat of the speeding car of our life intently playing games on our phone, oblivious to the world around us.
The rest (in the midst of the craziness) I’m talking about is more like putting that phone down, rolling down the windows and sticking our hands out, letting them mix with wind passing by as we look all around us to see the sights we’re passing by. The rest doesn’t stop the vehicle, it enables us to savor the ride…