I don’t think that most of us think about conveyor belts. We use them all the time in stores so they don’t really seem unusual. However, the last time I was at the airport and I used the ‘moving sidewalk,’ or people conveyor belt as I call it, it got me to thinking about the metaphorical conveyor belt of our lives.
In a way we are put on a conveyor belt the moment we draw a breath. It starts moving and our adventure on Earth begins. Maybe we will be on it for 100 years or maybe just 20 years. We don’t know but while we are on this belt and moving along we need to be busy and hopefully living positive and productive lives.
We don’t think about the movement when we are young because we have this ability to think we are invincible. We take chances and make stupid choices and the belt just keeps moving. It moves at the same rate of speed for everyone but some people seem to lose sight of that and then suddenly twenty years have flown by. And the belt keeps moving.
We can’t jump off for a bit and get our bearings. We need to make choices as it is moving. We need to do what is right in our day to day lives and still look ahead at what we hope we will see down the line. We can’t see ahead so we can only hope and pray. God does give us wisdom if we ask for it and you can use that to help plan the future that the belt is moving us toward. We work, get married and have children and, because we are so busy we forget about the belt moving; but move it does.
Then we get a phone call that some we love and care about has been taken off the belt at a young age. We cry, we rage and wonder why some one so young or so good was taken off the belt but we don’t get an answer because if is not for us to know. The loss usually makes us aware once again of the belt and our significance on it.
As we get older we begin to worry about the loved ones in our lives, especially the younger ones and making sure they make the most of their time on the belt. Sadly, when we try to teach and use our own poor choices they don’t listen because they really don’t get the movement of the belt yet. However, understand it or not, it is moving.
As I look back on another year gone by I can only hope that along the way I helped someone with their time on this ever moving belt that we call life. I get emotional when I think about the dear friend that I lost this year but then I smile when I think of the person who entered my life this year and has enriched my life unmeasurably. I chuckle as I remember the times my young grandsons said something witty. I am grateful for the memories I made as I traveled to countries I have never been to before and saw so much more of this big rock we all call home. –
So, as we all get ready to start a new year on this conveyor belt of life, I think that instead of New Year’s Resolutions about dieting or finishing projects, that we just decide to remember each day to live our lives to the fullest but with a servant’s heart. Maybe that person who looks so sad in front of you in line would benefit from a smile. Maybe that elderly man with the hat on that shows he is a veteran would like to hear a simple, “Thank you for your service.” When your waitress is pregnant or older a few extra bucks in their tip is a way to make their day a little easier. Remember, nobody obviously pregnant or of retirement age does that work unless they have to do it. Your neighbor is facing a difficult situation? Maybe a meal with a note just letting them know you are thinking or praying for them would let them know they are not alone. We all have the ability, as the belt moves us along, to make life a little easier for others.
Yes, the belt is moving. We can have differences of opinion on a ton of issues but at the end of the day we are all just trying to manage day by day as the belt moves along. So, for a New Year’s Resolution how about deciding to be kind to each other? After all, it is the least we can do as we all move along together.