eFax of Life from CBMC Heartland
A Weekly Inspirational Thought from Ken Korkow
Avoiding Headaches
Ever met a ‘spiritual proctologist’? My buddy owns a trucking company in the Twin Cities. Over $12 million in annual sales. Enough potential headaches to cause the normal guy to eat a bucket of aspirin. Yet my friend doesn’t get headaches.
Normally – successful business guys are either ‘headache getters’ or ‘headache givers’. Again, this guy is unusual. He helps others (including me) AVOID headaches.
How?
Look at the recent story he sent me:
A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks right to the top, rocks about 2" inches in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was.
So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. The students laughed. He asked his students again if the jar was full? They agreed that yes, it was.
The professor then picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be nearly destroyed. The pebbles are the other things in life that matter, but on a smaller scale. The pebbles represent things like your job, house, or car. The sand is everything else, the small stuff."
"If you put the sand or the pebbles into the jar first, there is no room for the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, material things, you will never have room for the things that are truly most important.”
“Pay attention to the things that are critical in your life. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal. Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities, the rest is just pebbles and sand."
My buddy LIVES this philosophy. And he cares for me so much that he acts like a ‘spiritual proctologist’ – gets deep & personal – with Christ-like concern. Because of Him – I’ve been through the Mayo Clinic ‘Executive Physical’ program. I’ve gone fishing at his Wisconsin cabin. And snowmobiling. And jumped from the sauna into the cold lake. Because of him – my wife & I have learned to play board games at night. And I’ve learned how to back off from work and spend more time with my own kids.
What about you? Have a friend like that? If not – maybe the best way to have a friend like that – is to be one to someone else.
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:33
CBMC Heartland, 12/27/02
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