Do We Have A Minute To Spare?

Devotional for Thursday, July 4, 2002 by Margaret Vanderzweerde

During my work period in India, I frequently visited the capital city, New Delhi, one of the busiest cities in the world. Traffic is atrocious and long delays are "par for the course".

One thing I noticed very quickly was the difference in traffic lights. No, they are not unusual colours, but each time we stop at a red light, a message flashes before us: "Relax". The letters are permanently printed on the lights themselves, to be revealed only when they turn red.

In India, it is easy for a foreigner to relax at the lights, because there is so much to see that we would otherwise miss. But what about here, at home in our own country? What do we do with our time on all those occasions when we are unavoidably delayed for a moment or two? Often we grumble and fret, muttering under our breath against the other drivers or the circumstances around the delay. It need not be so.

What a great time to spend a minute doing things we otherwise would not get around to, like saying a prayer, or saying something uplifting and constructive to our passengers, if we have any.

Too often, in the busy-ness of life, we fancy ourselves inconvenienced when we need to stop for traffic, but these minutes can become precious times in our day.

Next time we are "held up" at a red light, let's remember to relax and give thanks.

Prayer: Lord, grant us Your inner peace, so that the frets and cares of the world may not defeat us. Help us to cast all our burdens on You, to find our rest. Amen.

Margaret Vanderzweerde <marvan@interlog.com>
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

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