Carpool Line

     The other day, a local radio station did a funny bit about waiting in the carpool line at school.  The station took a negative slant on carpool lines, interviewing parents at a local school about the disadvantages of picking their kids up.  There were stories about being cut off in the carpool line, complaints about how early people had to arrive to get a good spot in the carpool line and people recalled how some parents showed their ire at other parents who held up the process by getting out of their cars and socializing in the carpool line. 

     The station is probably glad it didn’t interview me for its story because I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t make the final cut.  I don’t loathe carpool; I am one of those who looks forward to the carpool line every day!  In fact, I cannot seem to get there early enough!  You see, for me, the carpool line is where I do a great deal of my spiritual reading.  It’s a sad day when I forget to take a book along with me when I pick up my son at school.  When I’m home, there are many distractions, so I find it difficult to read.  There’s always another load of wash to do, a dishwasher to unload or now, a puppy to entertain, but in the carpool line, it’s just me and my book, God and me, and if anything, instead of cutting others off, I am the one forgetting to move forward because I am engrossed in something new about the faith.  I wish I had more carpool time!

     Ephesians 5:15 warns, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”  I try to make the most of that mindless time at carpool by filling my mind with the things of God.  Instead of looking at carpool as a tedious burden each day, it is a positive in my life, the quiet time with God that I yearn for each day. 

     How about you?  Is there a time each day that you can use to spend with the Lord?  Think about how you can turn down time each day into a time where you can feel more spiritually alive through your reading or simply through a time of prayer.  Instead of a negative, I guarantee it will be a time you look forward to and will never want to miss!