Where Is The Wisdom In Rationing?

This week I got a real treat by going to the Thursday children's mass.

Although I love the sermons on Sunday, I'm always curious what will be discussed on Thursdays considering the overwhelmingly adolescent audience.  As predicted, I was ready to check my Palm Pilot and write a few notes about the day in front of me while I listened "loosely".

Until I heard the M & M story.

"As a young child, just like all of you, I took long car trips with my family", the priest began.  "My mom used to keep me and my five brothers and sisters in good behavior on those trips by giving us M & M's.  She'd ration them out to each one of us based on our behavior.  If it was good, we got more.  If it was not, we got very few."

Then he asked, "What is rationing?"

A rather astute youngster raised her hand and answered, "It's the controlled distribution of resources and scarce goods and services."  Clearly she's a daughter of an economist.  And, this was starting to get better.

The priest continued, "So where do we typically ration in our lives?"

There were several answers: "When we're playing with our sisters or brothers, when a friend and I want to play with the same toy, each week when my mom and dad give me my allowance..."

And then the priest said something that hit me like a sucker-punch:

"God does not ration.  God loves 100% of you 100% of the time.  God does not ration."

I put down my Palm Pilot.

For in that moment, I realized that I was rationing my attention.  I was giving some of it to the sermon, some of it to the device that's attached to my hip, and likely more to my thoughts of my upcoming day.

And if that was simply the most obvious place I noticed my rationing, where else have I been doing the same.

Here are some places that occurred to me:

• a) I schedule appointments almost back to back - what am I rationing there?


• b) I get irritated when I don't receive my monthly discount coupon from my airport parking lot friends - what am I rationing there?


• c) I stop myself from making a sales call on a "very prominent and important person" - what am I rationing there?


• d) I go about most days believing that I'm the only one who can take care of A, B or C - what am I rationing there?


• e) I avoid being with some family members that I don't particularly like - what am I rationing there?

So what am I rationing in the examples above?

• a) Time


• b) Money


• c) Confidence


• d) Trust


• e) Love

It struck me that I spend a decent amount of time rationing my resources.  That I withhold my time, money, confidence, trust and love from many people and situations.  And it's not just me.

So what makes it so prevalent, this withholding or rationing?

Consider we're just simply afraid of not having enough for ourselves.  And consider that fear comes from us not being enough for OURselves.

When was the last time you said YOU were enough for YOU?  When you said, "I'm totally sufficient for myself?"  If you're like many, it's been a long time, if ever.

So we wonder why our businesses don't make it when we run into challenges; the ones we'll inevitably run into.  We wonder why employees don't work out.  We wonder why clients leave us.  We wonder why our marriages or relationships fail.

We ration our M & M's.

So I'll leave this last thought and an invitation to create some space to truly listen:

What one area of your life will be transformed if you were to offer it all of your M & M's?

Happy Sugar Buzz,

-Coach Preston