Are We Raking Leaves Before the Hurricane?

Share your thoughts and let’s learn together

My nephew and his family were in Maui last month when hurricane Lane hit the island. He sent me this picture with the caption, “Hurricane’s coming, better rake those leaves.” I laughed at the futility of the effort. Didn’t this guy know what was coming? Wasn’t he watching the forecast, looking overhead and seeing all the signs of a coming storm? Couldn’t he have used his time more productively, given what was about to happen?

In reflecting on the picture it raises some disturbing questions. As I attempt to carry out my work in a culture spinning out of control, I wonder:

• Am I focusing on things today that will look absurd a year from now?
• Am I missing the signs all around me that a storm is coming?
• If I was wiser in reading the signs of the time and better understood what was coming, would I be spending my time on a completely different set of priorities?
• Is all the work that seems so relevant and timely to me today nothing more than leaf raking before a hurricane?

Tough questions. The answers are equally tough, and I’m certainly not smart enough to answer them on my own. So this is where you come in. I invite you to respond and let’s learn from each other. Here’s what I ask:

• Send me your best thinking on ONE emerging issue/new challenge/unforeseen difficulty we will be facing in the coming year that requires us to be acting differently TODAY.
• Add one sentence that articulates what we should be doing today to be ready.
• PLEASE LIMIT YOUR RESPONSE TO 100 WORDS.

Next week I will respond to your responses. My prayer is that together we can help each other read the signs of the times and steward wisely these days the Lord has entrusted to us.