16 Months

This week I went to have the inspection sticker on my truck updated. I knew it was out of date because Maggy told me so. Hers was out of date also! I was a bit embarassed to note that the sticker had been out since February. I joked about that with the man who was replacing the sticker. The joke was on me, however, when he told me that my sticker was not out of date this past February. Actually, it was a year ago in February. For 16 months I have been driving around with an out of date inspection sticker. I think that at times I was aware that the sticker was out of date. I would have good intentions of getting the sticker replaced, but you know how things go. Something else would catch my attention and the sticker would be put on the back burner. Pretty soon it wasn't even on a burner. Even I am embarassed, though, that this went on for 16 months. The fine for an out of date inspection sticker around here is $110! There is no real surprise that this happened to me. All too often I find the basic things of life that need to be taken care of are put on the back burner while my attention is given to other fleeting things. It is so easy to have our thoughts taken captive with the exciting, dramatic, flashy things of life while the ordinary day-to-day things go untended. Yet, it is the ordinary things that give life structure and meaning. Have I been more attentive to Star Wars than I have to the spiritual war that is going on in my mind daily? Have I been more excited about my next meal than I have the eternal food that Jesus provides? Have I been so focused on my vacation trip that I have ignored the journey of life with my King? I thank God for His grace, because I have no doubt that there are some 'stickers' that are 16 months out of date in my life ... and I'm cruising along totally unaware of them. Abba, please open my eyes to the things that truly need my attention and energize me in my walk with you. Amen. (This was also posted to the WEEKENDERS blog.)