The call came in while I was running a quick errand. Initially I thought it was going to be a short call so I took it as I walked the aisles. As we began to get into the discussion I could see that the discussion was going to be anything but quick. Passions were running high. Frustrations were emerging. The need to know was fighting with the lack of any information. Both parties needed to go. Now was not the right time to finish it, or was it?
I hung up and realized that I still wanted to express myself further. As I walked down a long aisle my fingers tapped on my iPhone. I finished the short note, looked at it quickly, and hit send. It felt good to hear the phone’s chirp that signaled that the message had gone.
As I continued, I began to reflect on my words. There was no question that they were accurate. Yet I wondered. Were they the best that I could express? Did they capture everything that I wanted to say? Would they be heard in context?
Another writer continues to remind me; “I should be spiritually free and expressive as I pray, but I should also be thoughtful and mindful as I pray.” (1 Corinthians 14.15) Anything I say, do, or write should be done within the frame of this model. It is Freedom coupled with Responsibility.
I know I am wonderfully free. I can say and do anything! It is easy to forget that the choice in any moment is mine, especially when I feel under pressure. Yet this freedom carries more than the ability to be expressive. I have an opportunity to use in while being mindful of others, sensitive to their lives. Being free is serious business.
I knew I had not used my freedom wisely. I followed my first note with a second one. The heart of my message was simple. “As I reflect, I could have found a better way to express myself.”
Today is a fresh opportunity to do just that.
