5/4/07
I rub my eyes a couple times as I stand before the mirror in the airport bathroom. I splash some cold water on my face, hoping it will help wake up my eyes that actually never went to sleep the entire 16 hour plane ride. There is a 14 hour layover before our flight to South Africa and we are in London.
What?! I’m in London, as in England? That thought helps wake me up enough to finish getting ready for the day. Day is a relative term at this moment. In the past week and a half we have moved ahead a total of 7 hours, 5 of those being last night. One week ago, this “day” I’m starting today would actually be at 2 am. I guess that explains this foggy delirium I can’t seem to shake.
From the airport we make our way to the Underground to board a tram that will take us the hour ride into downtown London, making stops every few minutes. With every stop an automated voice comes over the speaker with a warning, “Mind the gap between the train and the platform”. I recall a joking phrase from one of my team mates in the bathroom before we split to head into town, “Mind the gap!” She has been to London before and the reference is starting to make a little more sense now.
The gap that we are supposed to mind is about a 3 inch space between the floor of the train and the platform. I guess it is possible to trip or maybe even get your foot stuck in the small gap. But really it is a small gap, seemingly insignificant, except that it is announced every few minutes and you can’t forget about it! There could be a beautiful castle with green fields and small fluffy sheep grazing in the pasture, but everyone misses it because they are looking at this little gap that could potentially hurt them.
Being reminded about a possible danger is a good thing, but focusing on that danger to the point that it is all you see or think about is a distraction. God has given us directions and warnings in His Word, but that is not our focus. If we only focus on what to avoid we will miss all He wants us to experience and all He wants to give us right now. He wants us to look at the little fluffy sheep; He wants us to look at Him.
Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you – Matthew 6:33
The gap to mind in London was fairly minor and has become a kind of catch phrase for the city, especially for tourists. But, it is interesting to see how God can use almost anything to draw us closer to Him, it just highlights His infinite capabilities. When our focus is on Christ all else will fall into place, we can have faith in that promise. It is that promise that our teams must prayerfully remember as we travel to Mozambique in a couple days.
To HIM be all the GLORY!
