“On Making Oatmeal and a Mess”

So, I put oatmeal on the stove this morning.  However, I realized that I had a little time before it cooked, so I went out to get the trash cans and recycling bin, and set them beside the garage.

Then I walked back in the house, and there was my server’s apron on the counter right beside the door.  “Oh, I should go ahead and put this in my car,” I said to myself.

While I was in the garage, I decided to put my bike in the trunk, and . . . well, you can see where this is going, can’t you?

By the time I remembered the oatmeal, it was nice and creamy—or, at least, it was creamy on top.  On the bottom of the saucepan was a substance that was roughly the color and consistency of tartar on teeth that have not been cleaned for five years.

Attention Deficit Disorder is such an interesting disease!  Sometimes, I think it should be called A.E.D: “Attention Excess Disorder.”  I try to pay attention to too much.

Some recent studies have suggested that “multitasking” is not really possible.  I know it isn’t possible for me.  I try to pack too much living into life, and end up with a saucepan that is not easy to clean.

I am a big fan of M*A*S*H reruns.  I can’t say that I like Charles Emerson Winchester III (who is as pompous as his name suggests), but I do think he occasionally makes a good point.  Early in his tenure at the 4077, Winchester said, “I do one thing, I do it very well, and then I move on.”

The Apostle Paul, a person who accomplished a lot, said something similar about his desire to know Christ.  “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

When you’re running a race, you don’t have more than one goal.  What race are you running?  Don’t try to do too many other things and let your oatmeal burn!

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