Fast Idle

Not my first car, but close

You always remember your first car.

Mine was a hand-me-down, Chevrolet Impala that my father had managed to dent on all four sides, front, back, left and right fenders.  I loved that car.

One thing I remember about it was that it had a fast idle.  I had to make sure I put a lot of pressure on the brake to keep the car from lurching forward.  It wanted to go.

And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.  Rejoice always. pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  Do not quench the Spirit. - 1 Thessolonians 5:14-19

In today's reading from Paul, we are reminded that the Spirit wants to go.  It hates being held back, being idle.  Admonish the idlers, he tells us.

My father would have loved Paul.  Dad never wanted to see me relax and be idle.  He always had something I could be doing, something he enjoyed doing himself, but probably wasn't on my favorite things list.

To be idle was a sign of laziness.  The spirit in him was alive and active most of the time, while mine seemed to need a fire lit to get started.

Be patient with all of them?

Dad wasn't all that patient with me when I idled, even if I was idling fast like my car.  His strategy was simple.  He would give me that look that preceded engagement.  I would catch it as he walked by and it would not fade until I was outside digging in the garden beside him or raking leaves or mowing the lawn.  As long as I was busy doing something, the look would fade.

That was his way of keep the spirit from being quenched.

Well, all that must have worked, because I find myself in constant motion today, rarely idling, and when I do, it is a fast idle.

I try not to judge others by their idle rates, and I do my best to encourage those who have trouble getting going, but I find I have little patience for the stalled and stopped who refuse to start their engines and move.

I believe the Holy Spirit has much more success making things happen when we are actively engaged, when we are up and in motion.

For me, it is paying homage to God when we are doing something in His name.

Sometimes Paul goes off on a tangent, but in this reading, his words work for me, and they would have worked for my father.

Experience is a good teacher and I have learned from experience that I need to be thankful for who I am and what I have become.  I also need to be patient with those I encounter, set an example, and do my best to encourage them to join me.

Rejoice always. pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances...

These are good words to live by.

Now, let me go back to idling fast...

More to come...