Killing Birds
Let's start with this: I like birds and I don't want to kill them. So, "killing two birds with one stone" is a metaphor that is unfortunate, but descriptive.
I also like to multitask and I plan certain things in life to maximize effort by combining task and building multiple purposes into one activity.
Yet, it seems, without a primary focus, it is very easy to lose all sense of purpose and the activity itself becomes primary rather than what it is, a tool.
I can't find the word "focus" in the bible translations I normally use, but the word "seek" is very prominent.
So, I have spent some time seeking this morning. It may seem that I've been playing on Facebook and Twitter, but those activities have been peripheral to the primary focus. (I also PRAY on Facebook - I have found it a powerful too-l for intercessory ministry without getting in anyone's face about it).
I am seeking through the things I read, through prayer, through meditation, through what I write, and through thinking.
I woke up with all of this on my mind because there is so much to do and so little time. Because of the rush, I felt led and compelled to slow down and build this space into my day. I am expecting lots of birds to fall - poor little birds.
I am not sure we often have the luxury of doing one thing at as time with full concentration. When those times come, savor them and embrace them. In the meantime, we need to focus on the primary and include the peripheral. That is life.
Take comfort, birds, I am not going to kill you. It is just an unfortunate expression.
In the meantime, we have to find the One thing of the moment and let that be our compass.
What Is Your One Thing?
What gets you up with energy in the morning?
What puts you to sleep with a sense of fulfillment at night?
What makes you look forward to the future?
What gives you peace with the past?
What is set before you to think about and do today?
What is stopping you?