Drift Happens!

Remember what it is like to spend  the afternoon just floating at the lake? You start off near the dock, enjoying the sun. You open your eyes and realize that while you were relaxing, you drifted far from where you started . You didn't intend to, and didn't even know how far out you had gone. Yet here you are, with a swim ahead of you. So much for relaxing!

A sweet friend and I were discussing how drifting doesn't just happen at the lake. It happens in life, too. We drift with our weight, our finances, and our jobs. Sometimes we drift in friendships. We don't intend to, we just sort of relax into life and before we know it, we have drifted away from a friend. It happens in marriage. We start out so excited in our marriages and assume that "LOVE" will keep us close together. Then life happens. Children are born, jobs are acquired, and suddenly you wake up one morning and realize that you have drifted from that person who meant so much to you. It happens in our relationship with God. We don't mean for it to happen, it just sneaks up on us. One day we wake up and realize that the last time we really felt close to God was back at youth camp in high school. We float along in life and expect to stay where we began, but that isn't what happens. We drift.

There is only one solution for drifting- being intentional. If we don't want to drift at the lake, we must intentionally secure ourselves to the dock. If we don't want to drift with our weight, finances, or in our jobs, we have to intentionally set goals, make plans, and work at it. If friendships matter, we must intentionally communicate and connect. If we care about our marriage, we must intentionally spend time together and encourage one another. If our relationship with God is to be all it was designed to be, we have to intentionally seek Him. If not, drift happens.

Where are you right now in this lake we call life? Are you near your "dock" or have you opened your eyes to realize you have drifted far away from the very things that matter most to you? If you've drifted, start swimming my friend! You can't wait expecting the dock to swim back to you. It doesn't work that way. If something matters to you, you have to make the move to get back to it. The sooner you intentionally start to paddle back, the sooner you reach the dock!

Be on the lookout, my little floating companion.  Drift happens!

Every day you spend drifting away from your goals is a waste not only of that day, but also of the additional day it takes to regain lost ground.

Ralph Marston