No Time for Mulligans

In a New York minute, everything can change

In a New York minute, it can get a little strange

-Don Henley

Recently on my drive home, I watched a cardboard box fall from atop an over packed vehicle onto the interstate.  Stuffed animals bounced out, covering the road and causing drivers to swerve this way and that.  I passed by as the driver of the vehicle pulled over, and I noticed a little face pressed to the window, mouth gaping.  I could imagine the little ones sadness that Winnie the Pooh was now splayed along I-25, lost forever from her clutches.  I hypothesized the dad's reaction as he looked back at the now destroyed animals: If only I had tied that down a little better…

Offspring #2 and I drove from our home in the forest, to the grocery store to pick up just a couple of items.  Thirty minutes later on the drive home, we saw the remnants of a horrific accident at the intersection we had just passed through a short time earlier.  One vehicle had rolled and landed in the trees on its side. Another was pointed into a nearby ditch, deployed airbags filling the space that once seated a driver.  The passengers had already been removed, and firefighters were trying to direct traffic and clean up the accident.  If we had left a few minutes later…

Leaving an appointment, the elevator stops on the oncology floor.  A couple gets onto the elevator with red eyes, tissues in hand.  His arm is around her, and she leans into him.  I imagine the normal day they have had, until hearing news that changed their day; their lives. If only....

Every day, unexpected things happen.  Some of those things are day changers: like a flat tire, or lost set of keys.  Some of them are life changers: like a divorce, or a terminal diagnosis.  In a New York minute everything we know; everything we hold dear; everything we have become comfortable with, can change.  Scripture tells us that we should not worry about tomorrow, but instead should fully participate in this day.  This is the day that the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24  Finding the joy in difficult situations can feel nearly impossible.  As philosopherJoseph Campbell explains, We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy. 

Choose to participate in things that bring joy; relationships that are fulfilling; conversations that end on a positive note.  Find joy in the sadness; grace in the irritating; patience in the frustrations.  In the blink of an eye, the trajectory of life can change, with no opportunity for a mulligan.  Make it count the first time.

With Faith, ~Shugie