Catch Up or Get Left Behind!
I can recall as a child how this familiar saying or thought was applicable in a variety of circumstances.
Take, for example, one in particular—when I wasn’t old enough to walk to school on my own and I followed behind my older cousins and neighborhood kids. Most of them knew my grandmother’s wrath, so they would look back often to make sure I didn’t lag behind too far.
Nobody wanted the task of telling Ms. Mary Belle (my grandmother) that her granddaughter had been left behind because no matter their explanation (I was picking flowers on the way or I didn’t cross the street fast enough with the others because I was twirling around in circles at the corner...), all she would have heard was “We didn’t really care whether Tammy made it to school or not. Not our problem. Hope she figures out her way home🤷🏽♀️”.... loosely translated of course... Thankfully, I always managed to catch up.
As a point of reflection, I think about how God continues to give His children time and opportunity to CATCH UP or even to CATCH ON! And I would guess that in His case, the grace and mercy that He extends to us in an effort NOT to leave us behind, is greater than our desire to catch up at times. You see, I’m convinced that we routinely err on the side of feeling like we have more than enough time to ________ (you fill in the blank)! Or that there will be no real consequence if we don’t do what we know to be kind, honest, fair, and patient.
I read somewhere that there are 8,810 promises in the Bible. So, there’s very little flower picking and twirling going on in my world lately. I’m committed to getting to each destination, each milestone, and each reward that God has for me.
“The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed but wants everyone to repent.”