Friday, March 02, 2007

Parking lot reflections

Some of my best thinking is done in a parking lot. Other places vie for first place in my best thinking spots, but let's stay with parking lots for now.
I tend to be a people watcher. I like to observe how people act and seek to understand what it means. Like the other day... I was in a parking lot that had lots of empty spaces. There were two women who had their car doors open, the driver of one car and a mother putting a child in a minivan slide door in the other car. Between the two cars, where the women were standing was an empty space. It just so happens that the empty spot was close to the front door of the lot.
A third car pulled up to the empty spot (remember there were plenty of empty spots including the ones on either of the two cars in question) and just waited until the women finished their conversation (abruptly as they had been interupted by the looming SUV breathing exhaust and anxiously awaiting the prime spot.)
OK, so here's what I thought about. Here was a community of two, plus the tike in the infant seat, and it was rudely interupted by the urgency of another who's agenda was more important than a developing friendship. I wonder how often we work against the needs of others by our actions? We huff at a checkout line when the cashier in strikes up a conversation with the person in front of us. We hurry family out of a restaurant rather than allow them to speak to the people in the booth next to them. We pull our children away from a conversation or play time at church rather than let them socialize. (ouch, that one might be me!)
Just another Gospel reflection. How was Christ made known in the way you enabled community today?

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Dave is the Lead Pastor at...
New McKendree United Methodist Church
225 S. High St., Jackson, MO 63755
Saturday Worship 5:00 pm, Sunday 9:00 am at High St. Campus 11:00 am at South Campus (1775 S. Hope St.)