She turns, dribbling the ball low to the ground with long, quick strides.Wait.
Her eyes are only on the rim ahead, but she still sees two teammates up ahead; one to the right, and one to the left.
Two defenders are up ahead too, back pedaling as she approaches.
Wait.
The defender on the left commits to her, thinking she is heading for the basket. Having waited for just this moment, without even turning her head, she releases the ball with one arm, for a long pass to her teammate for a layup. The basket gives her team their first lead all game, and the other coach calls a time out.
It occurred to me while my husband was driving us to church this Sunday, all together in the van this time, just how beneficial this type of vision can be in our daily lives and relationships…if we will only turn it on.
We all have goals. We all have aspirations. We are all trying to get somewhere in this life. But when we do it with blinders on, we miss out on the rest. We miss out on the journey. We miss our teammates.
An adrenaline rushed 5 seconds can heighten all of your senses into feeling everything around you, and yet, so much of our lives we are trying to move as fast as we can, while tuning everything out. On the roads, we are in too big of a hurry to let other drivers in. We use excuses like, “Well, he didn’t use his turn signal!” or “He knew that lane was ending this whole time!” In reality, we are all trying to get to the same goal; our jobs, our homes, our commitments, and we want to arrive there safely. That’s the main goal; not the destination, but rather our health along the way. We tend to have blinders on to the rest of the world, as though our final outcome is all that matters.
~Ephesians 5:8-10
We are all on a different path to the final destination. We can attempt our daily lives one on one, us against the world, with our eyes fixed on the end goal, or we can broaden our view, activate our peripheral vision, and see the teammates around us. Don’t close yourself up in darkness, unwilling to fully experience the journey. In your hurry, you will not only miss out on the opportunity of relationships, but you will be turning off a light that others might really need to see their own path too.
~Psalm 119:105