Last night Rachel (the good lady-wife) asked very politely, ‘Have you remembered to contact Rod?’ I hadn’t. This morning, she asked, ‘Have you contacted Richard about our leaking conservatory?’ I hadn’t.
I thought of other things I must do today… too many to hold in my tiny mind… I need a list! Six people I must contact… cut the grass, other garden jobs… reading and writing tasks… two more friends… my list has twenty tasks.
Walking on the beach this morning I passed the ‘Walking Men’. These five, 8ft bronze figures have become a local talking point. People have posed beside them, taken pictures from different angles…
They raise big questions… What are they thinking about? Where have they come from? What are they doing in Lowestoft? Where are they going? Big important questions about my life…
Balancing today’s details of the immediate listed needs with the big questions of the Walking Men is a challenge…
Three friends…
…K’s undergoing chemotherapy. Big questions concern healing, returning to work, rediscovering social life… Today’s details require coping with the next round of treatment.
…L’s children have been taken from her. She had an abusive partner; she used to drink too much. The big question concerns getting her children back. Today’s details involve proving that she’s turned her life around and will be a good mother.
…M’s moving in with her partner today. Big questions involve bringing together two families from previous relationships, working out new life patterns, growing love. Today’s details are about vans, clothes, furniture…
The details of today’s list lead towards the big question, the big picture…
In 1 Corinthians 13 the big question, the big picture is ‘love’. It says that unless the details of my life, the little items on today’s list, fit in with the big picture, then I’m a worthless noisy gong…
Today I’m praying that my life has integrity, consistency… my big life aims and claims are reflected in the details of my much-needed list for today.
malcolmsmusings.org 
Provocative post. The key here is the definition of love. Is it your definition or God’s? When I think of love in today’s culture, it stands from the perspective that everything someone does is okay. This supposedly shows your love for them. If one speaks the truth, it is not considered love because it’s uncomfortable. Just my thoughts.
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Good thought, Sandra. My edperience is that even Christian people with God’s definition they’re not always good with the detailed list-practice of love that demonstrate the big picture principle.
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