When Mom was a little girl, she played a game called Button-Button. Although there are several versions, most consist of hiding a button in someone’s hand while the “it” person says, “Button-button, who’s got the button?” and tries to find it.
Dad talked about using buttons for homemade spinner-toys on strings (whirligigs), and we grew up watching Mom collect every spare button in her button-box, a heavy wooden drawer divided into twenty 3” X 3” sections.
We kids loved studying the wide variety of buttons, some of pearl or glass, others of leather or covered with fabric. Mom organized them by color, including silver, gold, and bronze.
Today while babysitting Emerald, I pulled out my small collection of buttons, thinking we might have some fun with them. Immediately she tucked two small ones into her mouth, and it took a graham cracker to convince her to spit them out.
We had fun counting them, sorting them, and organizing them into muffin tins. She also enjoyed dropping them down my shirt and watching them fall out the bottom, simple pleasures with ordinary items.
I’m fairly sure God is in favor of us slowing down enough to enjoy many other simple pleasures: the sparkle of sink bubbles, the ticking of a clock, the scent of a newspaper, the smoothness of a clean counter-top, the sound of the wind. But most of us find ourselves racing through our days at such high speed we miss out on not just these ordinary blessings but also something far more significant.
Charles E. Hummel authored a book titled Tyranny of the Urgent: He wrote:
“Don’t let the urgent take the place of the important in your life. Oh, the urgent will really fight, claw, and scream for attention. It will plead for our time… But the tragedy of it all is this: while you and I were putting out the fires of the urgent (an everyday affair), the important thing was again left in a holding pattern. Unlike the urgent, it patiently and quietly waits for us to realize its significance.”
Button games aren’t that significant, but spending unhurried time with grandchildren (and others) is. And at the top of that list ought to be deliberate time with God. As Mr. Hummel said, “The Important” patiently and quietly waits for us to realize its [His] significance.
The picture of God doing this, patiently, quietly waiting for us to notice him on the sidelines, should prompt us to quickly reach for him. Though I’m sure he approved of Emerald’s and my button games today, it might be a good idea for me to place a few of those buttons around the house as reminders of The Important One waiting to spend unhurried time with him.
“O Lord, I know it is not within the power of man to map his life and plan his course — so you correct me, Lord; but please be gentle.” (Jeremiah 10:23-24)