People tell me how busy they think I am. I don’t think I’m that busy. Sure, I keep busy during the day but at the end of the day all I have to do is to feed Arlo and answer a few emails. So compared to some of you I’m really not that busy.
Take for instance parents, especially with kids between five and fifteen years old. I say, between five and fifteen because at five they start school and organized sports and at fifteen without their driver’s license kids still need a ride from their parents.
Typically, both parents work jobs. They come home, help kids with homework, get dinner on, and then take the kids to their sporting activities. Then on Saturday and Sundays it’s off to the kids’’ weekend tournament with many of them out of town. Talk about busy!
So, with life as busy as it is, how do we make time to be there for others? The answer is we make time. I think of the player for the Minnesota Vikings who every December took to decorating the team locker room with Christmas lights. Along with that he started a tradition of a player gift exchange.
The tradition caught on. So, now at time of year when there’s the pressure of the playoffs what does the team do? They get into the Christmas spirit by time to decorate the team locker room followed by a player gift exchange. What a great way to bring a little humanity back into the competitive world of professional sports where winning is everything!
Like that player for the Vikings did for his team we can do for each other. But what does that mean? What should we be doing? After hearing him preach the people were asking John the Baptist the same thing. “What should we do?” And he told them. “if you have two tunics give one away.” If you were to ask John, the Baptist, “What should I do?” what do you think he’d tell you? Well, I’m not telling you what you should do. But I offer a few ideas about what you could do.
Think of a relationship you’d like to see improve. At work what if you were to make time for a co-worker you tend to overlook or even find challenging? Or, at school what if you were to take time to say hi to the kid you normally don’t talk to or maybe even find obnoxious? Or at home what if you were to spend time with the person in your family who you sometimes overlook?
Or when it comes to helping others what if you were to volunteer some time with Humanity Alliance or Love INC or just helping that elderly neighbor who doesn’t get out much anymore. Or what if you were to invite to Christmas mass a friend who hasn’t been with us for a while?
At Christmas we celebrate a God who became human so we can live fully human ourselves. With that in mind this week what are you going to do to bring a little humanity back into the busy world we’re part of? No matter how busy you think you are, look for opportunities to be there for that person who needs you. if you want to get into the Christmas spirit, try it and you may find that you aren’t quite as busy as you thought you were.
