Michael’s best friend’s “dad” was killed this week by a driver who ran a stop sign. Levi has been in and out of our house 100 times over the last 6 years and holds a very special place in the heart of our family. Though I don’t know much about the man he called “Dad”, I know he was a good man, a musician and that Levi loved him very much. Our hearts ache for our friend as we hold each other a little tighter.
The same day we learn about this accident Lisa called from school and told us about her friend, Claire. They had been in the ER with the night before with her because she was struck while riding her bike on campus by a fellow student who…ran a stop sign. Thankfully, Claire escaped that accident with only a twisted ankle and nasty bump on her head. It could have been SO much worse. Lisa too is holding her friends a little tighter this week. Life is fragile, precious and full of reasons to stop.
As I was thinking about these things today, I wondered to myself how many times I ignore the stop signs in my life and run over, or run by the people around me or even run right by God. My sister-in-law, Beverly, has a habit of running until she drops. She has so much energy and goes and goes, like the Energizer Bunny until she gets knocked out cold by some random illness. I tease her but I know, though I never had the energy she does, that before I had FMS I would go-go-go too until I just couldn’t go-go-go any more. It’s a sickness in our present-day society. I don’t know many people who take time to rest any more. Even when “we” go on vacations our days are filled with one activity or another. When will we ever stop?
Beverly’s own husband, Russell, brought a message in his church when we still lived in Miami about the principle of the Sabbath; how God ordained a time for us to stop. He even demonstrated this one command himself on the 7th day of Creation. Stopping is essential. We all need to start paying attention the stop signs in our life; I need to start paying attention to the stop signs in my life. There is always going to be something that needs to be done but nothing more important than people God has put in my life and my relationships with them. When I refuse to stop doing I refuse to just be…with God, with my loved ones, with my friends. When I fail to stop I fail to listen, to feel, to build up, encourage and value what is most valuable. When I forget to stop people get hurt, sure it’s not like Levi’s dad or Claire, but it’s still true.
God help me to remember to stop, take time to stop and make it a point to stop. Slow and steady…saves lives.
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