carpool lane debris
by Kristen
The seconds and minutes pass by at such a speed I miss most of them. A few noteworthy ones jump out, but most are behind me before I knew they were before me.
That’s life.
This morning an accident occurred miles ahead of me. I sat in one of the thousands of cars stuck in its wake. And as I inched along a stretch of freeway in single-digit miles per hour, I noticed the things I race by every other day.
Along the center median I saw a man’s dress shirt: white with blue stripes. How did a dress shirt come to rest on the freeway? Did it fly out a window? Or did paramedics cut it off someone at the scene of an accident?
For several miles I inventoried all the debris along the center divider. There must have been a story behind each blown out tire tread, hubcap and car bumper; but those were far less intriguing than the lid to the 52-quart Igloo cooler, the pillow or the shovel handle and thirty feet later the shovel blade . . . for a snow shovel. The six-foot metal pipe and the splintered two by fours seemed less out of place than the orange hard hat that was missing a quarter of its left side. And the foam insert for a microphone case and the cargo shorts—doesn’t someone need those?
As I noticed each item left behind—whether intentionally or accidentally—I wondered what I leave in my aftermath.
What stories are attached to the moments trailing behind me, the ones I rush past without a second thought day after day after day?
Sometimes I need an event out of my control to slow me down and give me space to notice the narrative I’m writing with my life.
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It’s so easy to let the things of life slip by, without notice, in our hurried world. Sadly, sometimes it is people who go unnoticed… You have reminded me to try to be more intentional.
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I think you and Dad are both noticers (of different things/people), and you modeled well for us a life of noticing
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Kristen,
The words you wrote are more powerful than you could ever know. How often do each of us hurriedly go about our day, not slowing down enough to see the big picture…painted by the little things of life. I read on the Hope*Writers Facebook Page (where I found you!) someone post “everyday we walk past a thousand stories…”
Some of those stories are divine appointments from the Lord that He could use us to help in.
Thank you for this reminder. I followed you on WordPress. I look forward to reading more in the coming days…
God Bless!
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Thank you for your encouraging words! Writing helps slow me down and teaches me how to sit with those small moments and see how big they really are. I look forward to checking out your blog, as well. Thanks for the follow!
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There are a thousand stories around us every day. I love how you call us to enjoy the slowing of life when it occurs–and ‘read’ a few of those stories.
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Someone wiser than I may have taught me to look for and write a “slice of life” — thanks for helping me to see the beauty and truth in the small moments.
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