I was thinking today, about Minding the Gap. Oh sure, my initial reason for choosing this phrase as the title of my blog was simply because anything connected to London makes me happy. It automatically brings a smile to my face and peace in my heart. But you know, I guess subconsciously, I was thinking about several other things.
There are so many gaps in our lives that we often neglect.
How many times have we stumbled through the cracks of not calling our moms to tell them about our day or giving them a hug to say "thanks"? Honestly, I think I forget to mind that gap all too often. At times, she drives me nuts and I would rather fall through to the tracks below. It almost seems like that would hurt a lot less than dealing with the stress. But that's only my selfish attitude sneaking out of the carriage onto the platform. Life would be a lot happier, if I closed the gap between my attitude and her anxiety by giving her a hug, or telling her she's doing just fine.
What about the gap between friends? I often see a post or a note on my Facebook, and think "Oh, I should call her." or "I should see what he's been up to lately", only to blow the feeling off and toss it onto the stairs, leaving it behind as I jump on the train. There are so many wonderful people in my life, that I haven't taken the time to check up on in the last week. I think about all the friends I knew and loved in Elementary or Junior High, or even High School, that I don't talk to any more. People that meant the world to me, that I called the second I got a new toy or the cute boy that sat in front of me in Geometry asked if he could borrow a pencil. What happened to them? Which gap did they fall into, that I haven't bothered to mind?
What about that journal gathering dust on the bookshelf? When was the last time you minded the gap between you and your great-great-great grandchildren? Did I tell them about the time you forgot to call home when you were late for curfew and your parents flipped out? Did you tell them about getting your excitement over your first paycheck, the freedom and thrill of your first car, the breathless thrill of your first kiss? When was the last time you wrote: "my life is boring, but I know that someday this could matter to somebody"? It's such a simple task, pulling it down from the shelf, and with a bit of ink, recording our personalities on the page for generations to come. Who knows what an impact your diary could make in a few hundred years.
Is there a gap between strangers that we should mind? I think so. At the grocery store, do we see some one counting their pennies, trying to buy a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread? That's a dramatic example, but what about the woman with a shock of white hair, glasses so thick you wonder if it makes a difference at all, and old hands that have seen nearly a hundred winters? I'm sure she's aching for someone to jump onto the platform, take her hand, and help her into a place where she feels needed, wanted, valued. It doesn't take much, just asking her name and pointing to a picture of her grandkids in her pocketbook. It takes asking someone how their day is going, and REALLY meaning it. Closing the gap with a stranger could be as simple as smiling, nodding your head in their direction, or letting them go through the door first.
I think the smallest gap, is the one that is most important. The gap between us and our Heavenly Father. How easy is it, to drop on our knees every morning and night, just to say hello? Flipping through a few pages of the scriptures and learning about his life only takes five minutes. And yet all too often, we flip the light switch, fling the blankets up around our chins, and start dreaming without even giving Him a thought. That's a gap I certainly could mind a little better.
I don't know. I guess this could be pushing a metaphor into the depths of an English Teacher over analyzing the word "the", but it was just something I was thinking about today. It's so easy to mind our gaps. And yet it seems that more often than not, we're stumbling over the yellow line onto the tracks, forgetting to head the ridiculously perfect voice that echoes throughout the station, reminding us every five minutes to "Mind the gap, between the train and the platform".
It's not too hard, is it?
There are so many gaps in our lives that we often neglect.
How many times have we stumbled through the cracks of not calling our moms to tell them about our day or giving them a hug to say "thanks"? Honestly, I think I forget to mind that gap all too often. At times, she drives me nuts and I would rather fall through to the tracks below. It almost seems like that would hurt a lot less than dealing with the stress. But that's only my selfish attitude sneaking out of the carriage onto the platform. Life would be a lot happier, if I closed the gap between my attitude and her anxiety by giving her a hug, or telling her she's doing just fine.
What about the gap between friends? I often see a post or a note on my Facebook, and think "Oh, I should call her." or "I should see what he's been up to lately", only to blow the feeling off and toss it onto the stairs, leaving it behind as I jump on the train. There are so many wonderful people in my life, that I haven't taken the time to check up on in the last week. I think about all the friends I knew and loved in Elementary or Junior High, or even High School, that I don't talk to any more. People that meant the world to me, that I called the second I got a new toy or the cute boy that sat in front of me in Geometry asked if he could borrow a pencil. What happened to them? Which gap did they fall into, that I haven't bothered to mind?
What about that journal gathering dust on the bookshelf? When was the last time you minded the gap between you and your great-great-great grandchildren? Did I tell them about the time you forgot to call home when you were late for curfew and your parents flipped out? Did you tell them about getting your excitement over your first paycheck, the freedom and thrill of your first car, the breathless thrill of your first kiss? When was the last time you wrote: "my life is boring, but I know that someday this could matter to somebody"? It's such a simple task, pulling it down from the shelf, and with a bit of ink, recording our personalities on the page for generations to come. Who knows what an impact your diary could make in a few hundred years.
Is there a gap between strangers that we should mind? I think so. At the grocery store, do we see some one counting their pennies, trying to buy a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread? That's a dramatic example, but what about the woman with a shock of white hair, glasses so thick you wonder if it makes a difference at all, and old hands that have seen nearly a hundred winters? I'm sure she's aching for someone to jump onto the platform, take her hand, and help her into a place where she feels needed, wanted, valued. It doesn't take much, just asking her name and pointing to a picture of her grandkids in her pocketbook. It takes asking someone how their day is going, and REALLY meaning it. Closing the gap with a stranger could be as simple as smiling, nodding your head in their direction, or letting them go through the door first.
I think the smallest gap, is the one that is most important. The gap between us and our Heavenly Father. How easy is it, to drop on our knees every morning and night, just to say hello? Flipping through a few pages of the scriptures and learning about his life only takes five minutes. And yet all too often, we flip the light switch, fling the blankets up around our chins, and start dreaming without even giving Him a thought. That's a gap I certainly could mind a little better.
I don't know. I guess this could be pushing a metaphor into the depths of an English Teacher over analyzing the word "the", but it was just something I was thinking about today. It's so easy to mind our gaps. And yet it seems that more often than not, we're stumbling over the yellow line onto the tracks, forgetting to head the ridiculously perfect voice that echoes throughout the station, reminding us every five minutes to "Mind the gap, between the train and the platform".
It's not too hard, is it?
