Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Deer in the Headlights


Ever wonder where the expression of deer in the headlights comes from? It happens on a dark highway where deer are know to pass along the road. Every now and then a car will happen upon a deer standing in the middle of a roadway. Since the deer isn't use to seeing headlights, they will stand in the middle of the road staring at it, wondering just what that is. They will remain that was as if frozen even if it means getting hit by a vehicle.

Yet that is exactly the very sitchiation we all find ourselves in. No, I did not mis-spell situation. A sitchiation is a situation that's gotten out of control. It's when you know you need to do something to get out of a jam, but you don't have the foggiest idea how to go about making a change. So you see the deer on the roadway we stuck in a sitchiation. If the deer could talk, it might be saying to himself, "I always forget what to do next when I see headlights."

In the Christian life we are prone to numerous headlight staredowns. We look at lists of 'requirements' for being a useful soldier in God's army and we are left paralyzed. But if we remember that Jesus' assignment is to do a small thing, we are liberated from our sitchiations to step out and make a difference. We need to take on the more productive role of servant warriors.

Below is a classic example of one way to become a servant warrior and make a difference in the world, one act of random kindness at a time.

The Escalator

I was returning from another business trip, heading to my car. A five-year-old boy stood at the top of the escalator. At first, I thought he was just playing, but as I got closer, I realized his Mom was half-way down the escalator. She thought he was right behind her and his little sister. When she turned around and saw her son there, she started pleading with him to get on the escalator. He just shook his head no.


So I said "Want some help?" He nodded his head yes, and took my hand. We held hands all the way down the escalator. He told me that he liked the moving sidewalks, but didn’t like escalators…they are pretty scary. There was a relieved Mom at the bottom. My kids are grown now, but I still remember those frantic days with multiple small kids, and was glad for the opportunity to provide a little relief.

Today's ARK tip: Hug your Mother. Phone Your Mother. Write to Your Mother. Love Your Mother.

Don't forget to share what ARK you completed today with all of us big or small, it all counts to God. Let us in on what you did, how it made you feel and how it impacted someone else.

6 comments:

  1. I remember we were at Legoland and I had used the bathroom only to find a woman pushing a stroller struggling to open the door. I told her to wait for me and opened the door wide for her. I had not forgotten her response ever since..."Thank you so much. God bless you. You are the first, nicest woman I've ever seen here in California." Such a simple act of kindness but we truly don't know the response it brings to those people in need...You are on to something here, sister! God bless.

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  2. I was in the drive-thru line at Taco Bell last summer, when The Holy Spirit placed it upon my heart to pay for the person meal behind me.

    I was out of town and only had a limited amount of money left so my first instinct was to look in the rear view mirror, hoping to find one person, possibly ordering one lone taco? LOL

    Instead I found a van with an entire family of at least five...I chuckled a little and said "Okay Lord you know how much I have, so I am trusting the price won't go over.

    The woman at the window was a bit shocked as I said

    "I would also like to pay for the people behind me."

    "Do you know them?"

    "No, I would just like to bless them."

    "Oh, okay."

    They people in the van were smiling and laughing as I pulled away, and my son said, "Mom, I think you made them happy."

    That is indeed the point!

    I love this idea, Kat! I will call my mom today *grin*

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  3. Amen. My momma is in heaven, wish I could call her.

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  4. Today I was able to go to my grandson's IEP meeting at school. Since I don't get out often it was evident that he was surprised and happy I was there. We have custody of him and up until this year school has been a struggle. It was good for his self-esteem for us to be there and hear how well he is doing this year. This is nothing compared to some of the other ARK's but even the small things count with God.

    God Bless,
    Mimmy

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  5. Time for me sometimes is the hardest thing to give up. We had gotten a phonecall about some company that we were going to have within less then 24 hours(excited). My mom happened to call while I was in the middle of cleaning, and I had thought about saying a quick hello...goodbye. But I could tell when she called she was not herself. She said she was missing us(we live in the midwest, they live in MT). I remembered your post, sat down and gladly gave her an hour of my time...it was what we BOTH needed.

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  6. Kat, I am blessed to be able to hug and tell my Momma that I love her. She lives next to us. What a blessing it is to be able to help your mom, when she took care of you and raised you. Blessings,

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Looking forward to seeing how you made a difference today!