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| STOP...THINK...PRAY "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed." (Mark 1:35) YEARS ago I heard it called a "California rolling stop." When approaching a stop sign or making a right turn at a red light, a driver would slow down just enough to see if the coast was clear, then speed up without making the mandatory stop. Today while I was on my morning walk, I felt anger begin to summer as I witnessed a driver hardly hesitate before darting past a stop sign. Here in California, it seemed to me, running red lights and stop signs has become an epidemic. But as I continued pushing myself in a brisk walking pace, a different perspective started to take shape: Motorists are not the only ones who fail to stop when they should. In my own life, I have often plunged ahead when I ought to have stopped to see if it was okay to proceed. For instance, there was the evening I was lost for two hours driving around Washington D.C. I'd rushed away from the Baltimore airport rental car counter with the wrong map -- it was for Baltimore. More than anything, though, I found myself thinking of the times I'd done the wrong thing because I failed to stop and pray. Once, I taped a nasty note to a neighbor family's door after they'd gone away, leaving their dog barking outside. If I'd stopped to pray, I would have waited and reasoned with them later in person. I finally did, successfully, after my first complaint backfired with angry words. I finished my walk that morning not angry, but thankful -- and with plenty to pray about. "FATHER, help me not only to stop and think, but also to pray before I act. ********************************************** |