Make the First Move

The insurance inspection happened this morning. One hour, a trip through the house, and an accounting of our possessions. It was a process of revisiting the fire, the damage, the cause and effect. The inspector checked every floor and surface, told us the plans moving forward and how it would go to finally get us back into the house.

Val and I went and got some lunch after the inspection. I sat there thinking about that night.

“After I went downstairs, did you see me put out the fire?” I asked. The fire was to the left of our stairs (thankfully not blocking our exit) and Val and the boys went out the front door. I’d turned left and saw the fire, grabbed water from the kitchen, returned and doused it.

“No,” she said, “I just wanted to get the kids outside.”

My mind started running. Both of us on adrenalin, not thinking but acting. What if’s came fast and furious. What if the smoke got into my head and I’d passed out? What if I didn’t have enough water? What if I couldn’t get out of the living room?

None of this, in the moment, mattered.

It was survival instinct. It was moving without thought. See the issue and deal.

Photo by Damon Lam on Unsplash

Too often, in this life, we wait to make the move. We hesitate because of a variety of reasons. We second guess ourselves. We reconsider. We wonder if the response is the right one. We think about our past results and apply that data to the situation.

We think and we think and we think. Then we don’t act or we act too late and the moment has passed us by.

We need to live making the first move. We need to take the steps in our community, reach out to those in need, work to change things. First impressions count. First impressions mean something.

Take the first step to make the first impression and write the moment. We are called to take the first step, and when we do so, we will see our reality and our universe change.

It isn’t always drastic, but it is meaningful. Be that person that people remember, the one that changes the atmosphere. It all starts with taking the first step and making the move.