Spare a Moment
Posted on: September 2, 2013
- In: Everyday Life | Faith
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Other than the sounds of a few children playing outside and the occasional car or VIA train, my neighbourhood seems sleepy today. No doubt many children (and parents) are enjoying an unhurried start to the morning, getting some extra rest to face tomorrow’s back-to-school chaos. It’s the calm before the storm.
With all the schools in this area—public and Catholic, elementary and secondary, English and French—half a dozen school buses will pass through here tomorrow, along with the usual city buses, cars and service vehicles.
And with so many people back from vacation and ongoing roadwork for us to avoid or patiently wait to get through, travelling from A to B could be more challenging than usual. Especially for pedestrians.
At a four-way stop near my home, for example, maybe one in ten drivers comes to a complete stop. The rest roll through the intersection or fail to slow down, as though there were no stop sign at all. Even though this four-way stop is next to a busy park and many dog walkers, runners, and parents with small children use the crosswalks.
Stop. Spare a moment. Spare a life.
This is the request on a road sign in my area, and I pray we’ll all take it to heart tomorrow as the routine begins again. I pray that we’ll watch for those walking to school and boarding the buses and that we’ll drive carefully on the busier streets while we commute or run errands.
For those returning to work or classes after much-needed time off, I pray that you’d be refreshed and renewed to take on the new roles and challenges God has planned for you. And if your stress threatens to return to pre-holiday levels, I pray that you’d find some quiet moments to spend with God; as we read in Psalm 23:2-3*, “He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.”
(*Quote from the Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition.)
A Catholic Convert in Ottawa 