A couple of weeks ago, as I was driving to pick up my kids from school, I came across an unusual scene.
Well, not that unusual – most of us have done it at one time or another. Somewhat lost in my thoughts, enjoying the tunes playing on the radio, I caught something out of the corner of my eye. There, about four lanes of traffic away, and waiting on the adjacent light to turn green, was a man in a car. That may not seem that interesting, but what caught my attention was the gallon of milk on his roof. My instinct was to laugh and say, “What an idiot.” Then I noticed something happening.
People in cars on all four sides of the intersection were trying to get this guy’s attention. Motioning with their hands, rolling down windows and yelling – you name it, they were doing it. I still just chuckled to myself. Then I realized I was in the man’s view and may be able to get his attention. I began motioning by pointing at my roof. He saw me and began looking. I pointed up and he looked up. He wasn’t getting it. Finally, at the last minute, the man in the car behind him, jumped out of his car, grabbed the gallon of milk and handed it through the window to the unaware man.
Oh, we all felt good. People drove through that light with smiles on their faces, as if we had solved a major crisis. The rest of the drive to pick up my kids had me thinking about what I just experienced.
How many of us have “milk cartons” on the roofs of our lives?
As the school year closes out for those of us who work in Campus Ministries, often there is a void that is left when the students pack up and finally vacate the premises. At last, we have a chance to look back over the year and ask ourselves some questions. Usually, those questions deal with how successful we were, our programming, our impact in our community and the changed lives that have developed because of our ministry.
Yet, a question we need to be asking is, “What has happened to ME over this past year?”
Lent is always a season of personal reflection for me. I like to focus on spiritual disciplines, finding time to sit with my struggles, and reflecting on the things I need to change. This past Lent, I found myself stuck as I was using Lectio Divina with the words of Christ from the cross. It was Jesus’ words, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing” that caught my attention. As I read it over and over, I kept asking myself, “What in my life was I doing that I did not know?” Anthony De Mello translated this passage simply, “They are not aware of what they do.” So back in Lent, I began asking myself, “Am I aware?” This awareness was illustrated so beautifully for me the other day at that intersection.
Do I have a “milk carton” issue on the roof of my life?
To help us examine our year, I developed some questions that I would encourage you to seek answers to over the coming days and months. I believe these questions help us become more aware of the “milk cartons” in our lives.
- What have I assumed this year?
- What have I kept to myself that I should have let others know?
- What did I nurture and coddle this year a bit too much, that I should have instead, let die?
- How often did I let laziness or procrastination win the day?
- How often this year was I selfish – more concerned about my looks, my successes, my abilities/skills to the neglect of others?
- When did I have to be right, but found myself all alone?
- When should I have sought out counsel or a mentor, but instead tried to figure it out for myself?
- What was something this year I thought was great, but it ended up hurting me?
- Is there anything I am noticing as I reflect on these questions that I need to deal with immediately?
- What may I need to change, do, or begin working on this summer so I don’t have the same “milk carton” issues next year?
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