Is Your Life Like a Garden Hose?
February 25th, 2006 (Stress Relief)
Have you ever had a garden hose which leaks in so many places that there is almost nothing coming out of the nozzle? A lot of people’s lives are like that. They have an aim in life, but there are so many side interests that they have no power or energy left to give major attention to the top-priority goals.
Many ministers are like that. Their goal may be to help people who come to them for spiritual help, to minister to believers in their faith and to help them grow. But committee meetings, church janitorial work, administration, and numerous other activities drain off energy, and the main purpose of the church doesn’t get accomplished.
This is not limited to pastors. It applies to housewives, businessmen, professional people, and even writers. My wife, after hearing me discuss this phenomenon, went out and bought me a card as gift. It was a cartoon of a very perplexed-looking version of myself holding a leaky hose with nothing coming out of the nozzle. It is a poignant reminder of the stress-producing tendency to get involved in so many important things that we have not time or energy left for our main goal or goals in life.