Grasping at Chips

 

First I saw one, then there were a handful.  I couldn't believe my luck!  I pulled into the parking lot of an elderly living center with my friend and let her out to go fetch a grocery list from one of the seniors.  I had stepped out of the car to stretch my legs, looked down at the pavement wet with rain, and noticed -huh- a small red disc about the size of a quarter with a bronze-colored rim around it.  I shouted out (like anyone cared), "IT'S A BINGO CHIP!"  I couldn't believe my luck!  I swung around and closed the car door and stooped down to pick it up.  Although it was a bit muddy, it seemed no worse for the wear.

My eyes followed to the next bingo chip, and the next, and the next.  It was as if they were flung in an arc.  I stooped down to pick up some more but my gaze followed the arc ... to see ... more chips ... and yucky cigarette butts, and unmistakably, a piece of either cat turd or little-dog  turd.  I felt my stomach roll and my hand purposefully dropped the three or four chips on the ground.  

All of my investigative skills kicked into play in a flash of realization:  Someone's trash bag must have leaked these things out.  Perhaps it had a tear in the bottom.  My mouth felt funny.  The thought of me handling these little discs that had been sitting in the bottom of a trash bag with cigarette butts and kitty poop made me want to hurl.  I couldn't wait to get to the hand sanitizer on the door pocket of my car to purify my hands!

This is a very important lesson I did not miss and I wanted to share it more formally like this:

Sometimes we grab at things, jobs, relationships, whatever that catch our eye.  The glitz, the potentiality, the sparkle makes us lose sight of the bigger picture.  And frankly, I think there ALWAYS is a Bigger Picture.  We get caught in a moment and make a quick decision and find ourselves handling garbage.

So the next time you have to make a decision, don't do the impulse-buy approach.  Think.  Walk out of the store and delay the choice.  Sometimes it only takes five minutes to realize you didn't really need to buy that item that seemed so desirable in the moment.  

Before you commit to a path, take the time and sit with it.  Even if that means the agony of rolling the thing back in forth in your mind a few hundred times.  Or if it means, "Here, Lord, I put this in Your capable hands."  "Wait.  I want to take it back for a minute."  "Oh.  Okay, here it is, for you Lord."  

Be patient with the process.  Good things come to those that wait.  Drop the bingo chips.  You didn't need them anyways.

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