New Careers. Speed Bumps.

Here’s what I love: new careers.  

Here’s what I hate: speed bumps.

Over the last several days, I’ve been a waitress, a maid, a painter and a runner.

On Sunday, I waited tables. 

On Monday, I cleaned an entire house. 

On Tuesday, I painted a dining room.

Today I ran about 3 miles with a friend.

(And then I turned into a butterfly!...not really, I just thought the above sounded a lot like The Very Hungry Caterpillar book.)

What’s the story here?

Well, my short-lived job as a waitress was a fun little volunteer position.  Our friends had an adoption fund-raiser at a local restaurant.  The restaurant provided a cook and food for an abbreviated menu, but our friends had to provide the staff.  And that’s how I got to be a waitress for the very first time. 

Waiting tables is not for the faint of heart…or feet. 

Most of the customers were also friends of ours or friends of friends—they were there to support the need for adoption funds.  So, they were super-nice.  They knew that I wasn’t a “real” waitress and so they went easy on me.  Still, I was a nervous wreck!  I didn’t want to get an order wrong or not get the food out in a timely manner.  Fortunately, one of the restaurant owners trained us on the computers and where things were in the kitchen.  A few of the volunteers had been wait staff in the past, so they were helpful when I looked lost or confused.  Everyone was there for the same purpose (the adoption fund-raiser), so people were helpful, kind, and encouraging.   

On Monday, I cleaned my house.  This certainly does not make me a professional housekeeper.  I generally do clean my own house, but I just do it in stages.  I absolutely dislike having to do the entire house at once, so one day I’ll mop all the floors.  Another day I’ll do the dusting (or not) and another day, I’ll clean the bathrooms.  My vacuum is broken, so I no longer have to pick a day to do that…

But, because of different scheduling conflicts, I had not kept up with the cleaning.  My house was in need of a good once-over, so I got to work.   Since I am self-employed, I didn’t have to worry about my boss being upset that I didn’t clean the baseboards.  There was not anyone there to make sure I was doing a good job or encourage me when I felt like giving up.

Tuesday was spent painting the dining room.  I moved furniture, put down drop cloths, took outlet covers off the walls, and got to work.  I did not use painters tape, so I had to be ultra careful as I “cut in” by the ceiling and the chair rail and the baseboards etc.  The whole process took over 3 hours.  I was listening to an audio book, so the time went fairly quickly.  But, I am not a professional painter.  Even though I wanted to do a good job.  I occasionally got a tad careless.  More than once I dripped on the floor and had to quickly wipe it up.  There was no one there to inspect my work.  And even though, the outcome is fairly good, there are little imperfections that perhaps could have been avoided had I been a bit more careful.

Today, I ran just under 3 miles with a friend.  This friend is a serious runner.  She regularly runs 10 miles or more.  She is running a half-marathon this Saturday.  I haven’t run more than 2 miles at a time in over a year.  But, because she is running the Half on Saturday, she’s supposed to do short, slower runs in the week leading up to the big race.  And, because she is a good friend, she invited slow-me to come along.  

I was obviously worried about running next to such a good runner because I had not one, but TWO dreams about it in the past week.  In both of them, she was an excellent runner and I was slow and fatigued.  I knew this would not be far from the truth.  But, guess what? Even though it was hot today, I had a great run!  She never had to verbally encourage me to keep going.  I wanted to keep going to run with her.  I am sure she had to slow her pace more than a little to allow me to keep up, but she never seemed to mind.  We had good conversation to propel me along.  And, before I knew it, we were finished. 

When I run by myself, I usually walk some when I get tired, or I get distracted by the scenery and stop to take photos.  Running alone is never as affective for me as running with someone else.

What do all of these stories have in common?—Accountability and purpose.

There is nothing quite like having company for a difficult journey.  We were designed for relationship and community. 

I think that sometimes I (stupidly) forget that we (as Christians) are living with the same purpose: growing to be more like Christ and sharing Him with others.  Knowing that fact should allow me to always be helpful, kind, and encouraging to those who share that purpose.  Too often, I think I make it about building my own kingdom instead of God’s…when I do that, it’s as if I went and tripped one of the other waitresses at the adoption fund raiser in order to make myself look better.  You laugh, but don’t we all do that sometimes? 

Fortunately, at the adoption lunch, we maintained good attitudes and strived to help one another.  We did not forget why we were there.  Being surrounded by encouragement made a big difference in the work we had to accomplish.

Contrary to having the accountability and encouragement of co-workers like I did at that lunch, I had no one around me when I was cleaning and painting.  For me, this resulted in discouragement and shoddy work (at times). 

It can be exactly like that in our Christian walk.  If we try to live out our faith alone, we can end up cutting corners, skipping bible reading, and leaving dirt in hidden places because we don’t let anyone in. 

It’s like me and road humps.  “What!?”  You ask.  Allow me to explain.

There are giant road humps along this one road leading to the lake.  There are plenty of signs that say “SPEED BUMP”  “10 MPH”  “SLOW” 

10 Miles per hour?  Oh please.  My awesome Volvo idles faster than that. 

When I am by myself in the car, you can bet that I am going more than a little over 10 MPH.  Then, I slam on my breaks right before flying over the road hump.  I am not the only person who does this (as evidenced by the amount of scrapes and gashes made by people’s cars in the concrete on top of the massive speed bump). 

HOWEVER, if someone like, say, my mother-in-law is in the car with me, you can bet that I am slowing down to the recommended 10mph miles before the road hump is even in sight. Sorry, but it’s true.  OR if there is someone in front of me heeding the 10mph rule, then I too have to slow down. 

The signs mean nothing.  Sure, I know what I should be doing—the signs tell me loud and clear.  BUT, it’s having company, accountability that helps me make the right choice. 

If you don’t have a friend who will run with you and remind you of our shared purpose as Christians, then please pray that the Lord will bring you one. 

Are you supposed to be that person for someone else?  Then, make sure you get in the car with them, wait tables (without tripping them), or ask them to run next to you.  You don’t even have to verbally tell them to keep doing good.  All you have to do is slow your pace a bit and keep your own eyes fixed on Jesus—believe me, they’ll want to keep up.