Misplaced Weeks

Well, it’s been one of those weeks around here. First this went wrong, then that went wrong.

And then Angie’s cat went up a tree and wouldn’t come down. I couldn’t make the 30-40 feet necessary to get her down. So, every time we went outside, we heard her. Wailing. Sad, pitiful, hungry. We were trying to figure out what the best solution was. Naturally, that led to some lousy advice—no, you have never seen a cat skeleton in a tree. That’s true. When they start to get low on nourishment, they have seizures, fall out, and die on the ground. Yes, some things are funny when in normal times and not funny when a child is greatly bothered by what is happening.

After all, there’s a time and a place for everything. Face-to-face with a crying child isn’t that place. Anyway, the cat came down. Thanks to a tree service, that is. I greatly appreciated their work. The dumb fuzzball had gotten herself out on a branch she couldn’t get back from. As a result, she needed help.

Which, like any good preacher, I’m now finding as an illustration for all sorts of things.

One of them is time and schedule management. Sometimes I get out on a limb and then it’s hard to come back. I chase something too far to be able to get back to normal. That’s been part of this week.

What do we do?

First, we can get help. I’m not sure where that comes from in some cases. As a Christian believer, of course the answer is “God” but how does God work that out for us? That’s the bigger question. I’m reading up on time management principles and concepts, but one thing remains the same: it only helps if you don’t overrun the plan. Don’t get too far out on that limb.

Second, listen to the encouragers. Flufftail (aka Szechuan the Cat) got spooked while she was in the tree. There were several opportunities she could have taken to get down and she was being called to by people who loved her…but the gap was too much to overcome in her mind.

What do we focus on? The obstacles? Or the people who love us?

There are times that we misplace weeks and things go wrong. That’s unavoidable. What you do with it next is what matters the most.

So, you misplaced one. Get it together and pick up the next one.