Empty Calendar Days

 August 26, 2023

Last night, I asked Linda what she had scheduled on her calendar for today. She looked and replied, “Nothing.” We were both surprised; my day was open, too. There aren’t many Saturdays where that happens; the next three Saturdays are all filled. An empty calendar however, doesn’t necessarily mean an empty day.

Shortly after our calendar conversation, our granddaughter’s grandparents-in-law called and asked if we would be willing to let them take us out for lunch or dinner. They are wonderful Christian people, were in the area for the weekend, and we were delighted to say yes. “We might have to make it for about 1:00, because a friend had called to tell us he and his son-in-law would be over with his big tractor to move a big rock we wanted as a border for our new garden. 

I was working out just before 9:00 when they pulled into our driveway, ready to work. It only took about five minutes before they were on their way, so I called Abi’s grandparents-in-law to let them know we could meet earlier. They were at our door at 11:00 am, and we had a wonderful lunch and conversation with them. We pulled into our driveway about 2:30 to find an unfamiliar car parked there. As I got out of the car, the occupants of the other vehicle got out of theirs. It was Bill and Judy Hulett, returning some items from the Healthy Bones classes that Linda teaches.

We invited them in, and an hour and a half later, Judy said, “Well, I guess we had better be going.” 

From an empty calendar came a full day. Some people I suppose, would consider the unplanned people to be an intrusion. The schedule is paramount to them; change it, and their neatly ordered world collapses. We’ve lived long enough to know that many of God’s best blessings come unexpected and unplanned. Such was the case today. We were blessed by good people who invited us into their lives as we invited them into ours. And when everyone had gone their various ways, we still managed to get the lawn mowed and trimmed, and had a wonderful Facetime video chat with our eldest granddaughter.

All this is a good reminder that life isn’t about our jobs, our plans, our schedules. In the Church, it’s not about the programs and ministries. It’s all about the people. If we “get everything done,” but don’t see the people God puts in our paths, we’ve completely missed the boat. When Jesus was passing through Samaria at lunchtime, while his disciples went into the city to get lunch, Jesus had a conversation with a woman at a well. The disciples came back with their lunch and were surprised that Jesus wasn’t hungry. 

The woman had gone home and told her friends and neighbors about her conversation with Jesus. They were streaming out from the city to hear what he had to say. Jesus looked at them and told his disciples, “I have food you don’t know about.” They had seen many of these same people as they were looking for their lunch, but they didn’t see them as people, but as human vending machines who could give them what they wanted. Jesus wasn’t looking for what they could give him, but what he could give them. 

When we see people as Jesus sees them, we begin to see what we can offer, not what we can get. But in the offering, we receive far more than we give. Linda and I had the opportunity to experience this great blessing on this empty calendar day.