From The Storyteller
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June 11, 2018, Trash
8:18 a.m. and my morning walk is beginning. My purpose - to pray for the people of the church while walking the church boundaries. Over time the practice expanded to include picking up loose trash found along the way. This particular morning I go out the church door with my original purpose firmly in mind. Passing through the parking lot no trash is spotted, and I smile. In the alley behind the church, I pick up four pieces of trash. Rounding the church corner to begin my walk up High street, I begin scanning the street for trash. Then something happens to make this day different. The focus on the street was warranted because it usually had a lot of paper trash that preferred our street over McDonald's parking lot. Looking up I watch as a mother drives up to bring her daughter to our preschool. I am face to face with a hard reality. My walk has been transformed from a time of prayer for people into a trash hunt. The walk’s original purpose had unintentionally drifted from something I considered very important to something merely nice. Being distracted from prayer by trash might seem pretty farfetched, but it happened. If this type of thing sounds familiar to you, and you too have this amazing ability to get distracted from your original purpose, we are kindred spirits. Since ADHD didn’t exist in Chicago in the 50’s, I was left to find my own solutions to being easily distracted. My personal favorites for staying focused are “Small Actions”. Which leads me to why, on that day, I started walking with my hands in my pockets. A small action with a very positive result. Moral: Often what seem like a big problem can be solved by small adjustments. |