Just before the President spoke to the nation I went to the kitchen for a piece of peanut butter and jelly bread. I’m not sure what it was but as I was about to spread the peanut butter something distracted me. Whatever it was it led to something else and soon I was back in my chair watching the President. About ninety minutes later I remembered my peanut butter bread. I was amazed at what I found. When I put that piece of bread on the counter it was fresh, now it was already stale around the edges. I never would have guessed something could grow stale so quickly. Ninety minutes isn’t very long.
I remembered a story of a famous pianist who said if he missed practicing just one day he could tell the difference on the second day. If I miss my special time with Jesus just one day, I can tell the difference. Probably those around me can also tell but are too kind to mention that I am more surly, more impatient and more critical than usual. The word is “stale”. Just like that piece of bread, so very quickly we lose our freshness, our sensitivity and our concern for others. No, we don’t lose it completely. It is just not as keen as when we spend time with the One who said, “Men will know you are mine if you love one another.”
One of our greatest challenges is to stay fresh and relevant. In the classroom I have to know the daily concerns of my students. I need to see in their eyes their concerns. I know the greatest lessons I teach are not out of the books we use but how I treat them. We must not grow stale.
Written by Roger Bothwell on February 29, 2009
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
rogerbothwell.org