today i am back at work, and i currently have 1455 e-mails in my inbox. life moves so fast in the silicon valley, and i was relating to ryan today that it's interesting to have an outsider's view of the American rat race. i wonder how long it will take me to get fully back into it.

before i left for jamaica, i was zooming around the halls of the SCU business school on my way to class. i heard someone say something & then heard again my name yelled out clearly. i had walked right by one of my study buddies and not seen him at all. he lectured me on how we are all so focused on getting from point a to b. "everyone is a to b, a to b, all the time," he said as he gave a stir to his coffee and sauntered off to his class. i found his casual pace annoying.

in harmons, our trip leader, josh, drove us to the infirmary a couple of the days. we all knew that when josh said we would leave at 8:30, that meant we'd leave maybe by 9, probably closer to 9:30. but this isn't because josh is spending extra time checking his e-mail or primping, he's talking to jamaicans about what medicine they need, or giving them clothes, or making sure some of them have a job for the day. and when he drove us, the drive took ten times longer because we would stop constantly. josh would hand off a bag of supplies and clothes to a young woman, he'd talk to some of the guys that work for him, he'd give a honk to his friends, and he'd stop to let some cute jamaican boys hop in the back for a ride to school. and, when we dropped them off, they wouldn't go down to the school without waving goodbye to josh and making sure he gave them a wave back.

so i realize it's like this in my life - i am constantly "a to b" here at home in the states. and i'd like to be more like i was in harmons, where i was completely content to sit and color on the urine stained floor at the infirmary with my new friends who have no schedule. i'm "a to b" not just in the halls of the b-school but with my co-workers and my neighbors and with the rest of the world. i'm literally and figuratively walking by people and not seeing them each and every day. one of my favorite prayers says "let me not mistake busyness for freedom." so this week, one of the many things i am praying is that God messes up all my a to b plans and that i'll remember first and foremost His great love and that i'll learn the best way to live life from His amazing sons and daughters in jamaica who are grateful for those that take time to stop, who let their schedules get messed up, and who remember.



~Becky Blevins