Don’t keep your shoes so close to the door

“Don’t keep my boots by the door no more, there’s nowhere I need to be that fast.” _Lyrics from the song, Stubborn Pride, by Zac Brown Band

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During our time of serving in Montana, there was a beautiful rest area out in the middle of nowhere that Sonja and I always planned to stop at.

We’d usually take a few minutes to walk around and look at the beautiful landscape refreshing body, mind, and soul.

Being a preacher’s kid and then a preacher myself, it seems I have spent my life going somewhere. I didn’t really set out to do that. I know as a pastor I can honestly say that I never went to a church planning my next move. I always saw myself being there a very long time if not for the entirety of my ministry. But inevitably there would come that “time to go” moment and Sonja and I would begin packing and saying good-by once again.

Somewhere along the way I learned a valuable lesson – be sure to enjoy the journey.

In other words don’t be so intent on getting somewhere that you fail to appreciate the wonderful people and beautiful places along the way.

But the longer I’ve lived and the more I have gone I’ve learned another valuable lesson: Be sure to enjoy and cherish every stop along the way.

Now back to that beautiful rest area in rural Montana. It became far more than a quick stop to run into the restroom to take care of physical necessities, it became a place that Sonja and I looked forward to, a place where we could rest a few moments, a place that restored and refreshed us at a much deeper level than just providing a bathroom

All of life can be that way.

Where you work can be more than just a job and a paycheck.

That tiny dorm room you’re living in can be more than a temporary stopping place.

Maybe you’re living in a nursing home and you never dreamed that your life would turn out this way. But…it is a place and it can be more and better than you dreamed.

Eventually all of us are going…our children will go, our loved ones will depart, one day the bell will toll for us.

But in the meantime, we’re here – in this place and if I’ve learned anything in all the going and stopping in my life, there’s beauty in every place, good deeds to be done, friends to be made, and gifts to receive and give.

The ONE THING for today: Don’t park your shoes so close to the door, there’s nowhere you need to be that fast. Or as the old-timers used to say, “Pull up a chair and sit awhile.”