Moving on...

Moving towards more can mean leaving less behind

Moving On...

Did you ever need to hear some news that you didn't want to hear but it allowed you to quit dwelling about a situation and move on?
I feel like that's finally what happened for so many in Indy this morning when the Colts announced that #18 was out for the season. News Article >  http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/sports/colts_and_nfl/peyton-manning-out-for-the-season .  I know that there are a lot better examples than the status of a football hero, but I thought this is one that is easy for most to relate to. I've told some friends in the past that one of the regrets I always have at the end of a long season of watching my favorite teams (Cubs, Colts and  Purdue) is the many hours spent in an area of my life on people and teams (Winners or Losers) that I'll most likely never meet or have a chance to impact. I grew up in that kind of environment and sometimes I too easily get sucked back into it. I'm not saying it shouldn't be there at all...it just gets out of proportion to more important areas in my life, and I justify it by saying to myself that I watched it with family members, or that I'm a sports minister and this is good water-cooler conversation for many of the ministry situations I find myself in. I suppose I could say the same thing for other entertainment shows in my life like The Amazing Race, The Office, 30 Rock, Parenthood or America's Got Talent.


For some the announcement by the Colts is going to mean giving up on the team and selling their tickets or changing plans for Sunday afternoons around the house, and for others it will finally allow them to start looking at the team (individuals and the unit) before them with different eyes and maybe expectations. And still for others it will mean finally being able to give time to the more important things in life (One on one time with God, people in need in their life, church responsibilities or other good causes that haven't been able to break thru the fringes in their lives) than whether we are going to make it to the Super Bowl this year!


I know as much as I dread hearing news that doesn't look like its good on the surface it often gives me the release I can't give myself to quit spending mental and emotional energy in places that I shouldn't anymore....or at least until God shows me that I can again. Isn't it interesting how success in almost anything begins to consume more and more of our time and energy to the point where we get myopic about it and lose focus on the balance in life? I think we all underestimate how much time and energy we forfeit on things that are in fact out of our control.
More and more I gravitate towards being thankful in all circumstances (1 Thes 5:18) or being content (Phil 4:12) with where I am in life. It's not a feeling of not caring about things or entertainment anymore, but that I am realizing in a better, more full way where to spend my time on things that really matter, and that God is in control so I don't have to be.