Jarring

I meant to post this last Thursday when it happened, but I forgot by the time I got home from work.

An old man who had to carry a bottle of oxygen around with him to breathe came into my store on Thursday. He had ordered parts from our parts counter in the back of the store, and they had come in but were not quite right so they needed to be fixed. We were going to replace them and call him back to pick them up on Friday. As he and I were walking back up to the front of the store after resolving the issue, I apologized to the man for the inconvenience and told him I would call him as soon as his new parts were ready.

He looked at me, still wheezing through his oxygen tubes, and told me very seriously "I'm 80 years old, and I have all the time in the world. There's no rush."

It put me in my place very quickly. He's 80. He can't even breathe on his own anymore; he has trouble walking; he likely has difficulties taking care of himself on a daily basis. And here he was, telling me that there's no rush.

If anyone should be in a rush, it should be that man. I know if I were him, I'd most likely be thinking that my time is short and I might as well do everything I can, all the time.

But if this man doesn't feel the need to rush, and can just enjoy every moment no matter what comes... why can't I?

So that's my challenge for this week. Enjoy everything. Don't get upset over little things. There's plenty of time.