Turtle

Today is a holiday and Cheryl and I have been working outside. She ran the weedeater and I pushed the mower along the fences. I really don’t like to mow grass—duh! Who does? It is not so bad when all our equipment is working properly, but our riding lawnmower is waiting to be repaired, so I have to use the push mower while it is out of commission.

I was praying and pushing this morning, and I stopped instantly when I saw a turtle stuck in the fence. Some people call this type of wire “range fencing” or some people call it “hog wire.” It has small rectangular panels and the rather large turtle was lodged in one of the rectangular panels that was even with the ground. The turtle was dead. It had apparently been trying with all its might to move forward, but it was impossible because its body was wider than the clearing in the wire. Interestingly enough, if the turtle had just walked backwards it might have saved itself.

As I continued to push the mower I thought about that dead turtle. If he had only stopped trying to push itself through the fence and used a small amount of energy to go backwards, it might have backed out of the fence and lived another day.

I decided that I am a lot like that turtle. My ability to move fast and bring a task to completion is sometimes an asset. I totally get the part about moving forward and not looking back. Once I make up my mind to buy something, I am not one of those persons who search around to see if he gets the best buy. I research, I make a decision, I buy and never compare again.

I know all the scriptures about moving forward and not dwelling on the past (Isaiah 43:18-19, Philippians 3:12-14, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and others). But my inclination to move forward fast can be a liability. This is what the turtle taught me: I tend to move so fast that I don’t take time to think about the process. Like the turtle I am working so hard to move forward that I don’t even think about the predicament, much less about taking a step backward. I get caught up in the moving forward so much that I do so at all costs. Thank you, Lord, for reminding me to remember the situation, remember the process, and remember not to move forward too fast.

Details

The story is told of three men who were sentenced to die by the guillotine. There was a pastor, a lawyer and an engineer. Each of them had an opportunity to say something before their execution. The pastor raised his hands and said, “May God have mercy on us all.” The executioner moved him into position for his execution. As the guillotine came down it abruptly stopped just before severing the pastor’s head from his body. The pastor was set free.

The lawyer stepped up and cried out to the crowd, “Justice for all.” The blade of the guillotine again stopped just before falling on his neck. The lawyer was also allowed to go free.

The engineer stepped up for his last words and said, “If you would just tighten those two bolts on the right side then this contraption would work perfectly!”

I am in India working with business men and women who want their businesses to make a difference for the Kingdom. I was asked to give a devotional this morning at the beginning of the day. I talked about some rules for living, and one of the points that I made was to pay attention to detail. Jesus paid attention to detail: in Mark 5:25-34, a woman who had a hemorrhage was in the crowd. She worked hard to get near Jesus, and she touched Jesus’ garment. Jesus turned and said “Who touched my garment?” Jesus paid attention to detail.

I probably pay more attention to details than the average person. My wife would probably tell you that I only pay attention to things that need to be done in the house: “Honey, did you see that cobweb in the corner?” or “Wow, the pollen has really covered things in the house.” Yes, those type comments usually get me in hot water.

When someone asks me to read something for feedback they usually mean for me to look at content or theme concerns. However, when I read it I cannot help but edit the document (if it is not terribly written—I have actually told some people that I can’t read the document until it is written in a more intelligible manner).

Maybe I am a bit overboard with details, but I learn a lot paying attention to details. I believe that it is usually necessary to pay attention to details to achieve excellence.

God is all about details. If you don’t believe it, sit down in a public place where there are a lot of people moving past you and start studying peoples’ faces. You will not see two people with the same features. That does not seem so awesome unless you are where I am now. I have been doing a lot of walking in Bangalore—fighting jet lag as I was in Kyrgyzstan for a week, then back in Georgia for four days, then back to Asia. Yes, that is crazy, but necessary to fulfill my commitments.

There are well over a billion people in India and only 8 million of them live in this city. I think all of them are on the streets at 5 pm as that is the time that I have been walking the past two days. I am telling you it amazes me to look into the faces of all these Indians and not see any two who look alike. God is in the details! He made all of us in his image, but He made all of us to look different from the other and the amazing thing is that there are not a lot of square inches on a human’s face. I mean, there is only so many things you can do with a chin, right?!

Celebrate! We are all alike in the image of God, but we are all different to our human eyes. God is all about the details.

Listening and hearing

Cheryl had been telling me that my hearing was not good. I thought I was hearing very well, but after she continued to mention my diminished hearing capacity, I decided to get a hearing test.

During my annual physical I asked the nurse if they did hearing tests and she said I would have to go to a special lab for a hearing test. So, I made an appointment for the hearing exam. The young lady administered the test, and I responded to the commands. When we had finished, I impatiently waited for the results.

She soon came to me with a report. She said, “Mr. Cox, you have perfect hearing.” I couldn’t believe it, and I could hardly wait to get home to tell Cheryl.

Arriving at home I proudly announced to Cheryl that I had my hearing test that day and I said to her: “Guess what! I have perfect hearing.” In a blink Cheryl responded to me, “Then, there is something wrong with your listening!”

Ouch! That hurt. I walked directly into that.

Listen and hear—two very common English words that we use every day. Defining one of these terms is often done by using the other. So, what is the difference in listening and hearing? I can make a case for either in the “which comes first” argument, but I like the difference that Solomon stated in 2 Chronicles 6.

In chapter 5, Solomon and his followers had just finished their great work on the temple and the elders had brought the Ark of the Covenant into the temple. Solomon addressed his people in chapter 6. He declares the glory of the Lord and how the promise God made to his father, David, had been fulfilled with the construction of the temple. This is the prayer of dedication of the house built for God.

I am struck by the message in verses 19-21: “Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you, ²⁰ that your eyes may be open day and night toward this house, the place where you have promised to set your name, that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. ²¹ And listen to the pleas of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen from heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.”

Solomon is addressing God, no less, saying that God listens to the pleas of His servant and His people, and when He hears, He forgives His people. I am sure that there is a lot of theology here that we could debate, but the important thing in reading and meditating on scripture is what we get out of it that makes us a better servant and follower of God. So, here’s what I get that helps me: we do a lot of listening, but not a lot of hearing takes place. How many times has this happened to you: someone says, “Did you hear that?” And our response is “I was not listening.” Lord, as I am listening to the sounds of this day, may I hear You speaking to me. May I listen to my loved ones, friends and colleagues so that I may hear their hearts with mine.”