Got a Cop in Your Mirror?

     It didn’t take a cop in my side mirror to stop me in my tracks recently. It was a broken foot from a silly fall. Now as I lug around a cumbersome boot for six weeks, I can get pretty whiney. But I’ve discovered something that lifts me out of the dumps. And it’s all the more appropriate I practice it because the Spaniard Ignatius developed this technique nearly five hundred years ago after recovering from a leg wound.    
     Here’s my adaptation of his Daily Examen. Several times a day, usually when rising and retiring, I consciously:     
     ~REST in God’s PRESENCE - “You’re always with me. I’m never alone.”     
     ~REJOICE in God’s PROVISION - “Thank you for a good night’s rest, for breaths of air.…”     
     ~REFLECT on any emotional PAIN - “What’s bugging me here?”     
     ~REACH for God’s PERSPECTIVE  - “God, why am I bent out of shape about this? What can I do about it?”     
     ~REVIEW my PLANS - “You always go ahead of me. Today, I intend to .… Is this aligned with your purposes?”        
     This is a great way to travel through my day, and helps me remember that true spirituality occurs not when I find a cop in my side mirror telling me what I’m doing wrong. It’s when I’m traveling along life’s highway with a personal guide at my side, the God-Man Jesus.     
     Here's a song with lyrics that describes this journey.

My red badge of courage.