STEPS

Not necessarily one foot in front of another, but definitely getting there. Sometimes the motion comes with rapidity: a slick hot slide, a perfect arch off a diving board, a caught toe beginning a downward motion. Other times the forwardness is unsure at first. One acquaintance’s first step was to say what he planned. Once that information was out in the world, he was free to begin tweeking it to become what he really wanted to do.

For me most accomplishments from organizing a fabric drawer to starting lunch begin with a list. Scraps of paper litter my house. These are seldom neat and orderly and are not always easy to read. The ones I like best are the CWS/GPS. They help me take out a car and go from one errand to another in an efficient manner. I’ve tried it on brain power alone. I end up with destination 3 being nearer destination 5 and destination 4 gets skipped in frustration to be tried another day. With lists I can recycle on completion and have a righteous feeling.

If I have managed the list correctly then tackling the task is less stressful. Starting to thaw the frozen tapatila by 10:00 am. guarantees a lunch on time. Monday list always has a reminder to take out garbage after 6:00 p.m., so I don’t have to greet the garbage men in my bathrobe early on Tuesday. Pay my house tax bill by the 15th or the post office may not make the delivery downtown in two weeks. The reward for these actions is either a line drawn through or a heavy red check. Either is effective.

I can read these paragraphs and laugh. Fortunately and unfortunately a responsible organized mode is my default. Many times in life that has been just what is needed. I also welcome and gratefully enjoy those people or moments whose steps lead me into impetuous unstructured responses. After all, we had varied costumed personas for Halloween on Tuesday night. Coming up on Sunday is a mighty organ chord and we all rise to sing “For All the Saints”, remembering the different steps taken as they stream in as a countless host .The children’s version “I Sing A Song of the Saints of God” mentions we can meet this varied group “in school, on the street, and in the store,” and best of all, “We can be one too.”

These were all commended for their faith. Hebrews 11:39