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01/05/2009 Richard's Ramblings - May

Some years ago we lived in an isolated community in Australia. The nearest place from which to buy electrical good – that had any range to speak of – was 4 hours drive away. Needless to say, every effort was made to keep old implements running. While we lived there, our washing machine decided it had done enough work! It has been leaking water for quite some time and it finally got bad enough for me to be forced to find the problem and fix it. A leaking hose was diagnosed and changed. Unfortunately not only the hose had holes in it, but the water removal pump was also badly leaking - not to mention the oil that has been spinning out of the machine for several years now.

Question: Should we keep trying to repair it, or did we cut our losses and buy a new one, after all it was 15 years old?

Apart from not having the money set aside to buy a new washing machine, this decision was a relatively easy one. It’s not so easy, though, when it comes to making a similar decision about the ways in which we deal with many other areas of our lives.

“Have I got too busy trying to do too many things?”   Maybe it would be better to do less and do it well.

“Have I got into a rut where I can’t seem to be able to deal with the various situations that life keeps throwing my way?” Maybe I need to start looking at life differently.

“Are there some things I really want to do with my life, but I keep letting the urgent things crowd out what I really want?” Maybe the important is worth much more than the urgent.

“Am I so busy doing things that I have no time for being with my friends and improving my relationships with them and with my family?” Could it be that people are more important than all these ‘important’ activities?

Whatever situation you might be experiencing that challenges your sense of the value received from the way you live, it’s not easy to make the decision to change. There are always what seem to be good reasons for not wanting to or being unable to change.

When it comes to washing machines or cars or refrigerators, or TV’s we seem often more ready to make the sacrifices necessary to better the situation. What about when it comes to our very being, our lives, who we are?

Rev Richard Johnston
May 2009

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