I had an afternoon to rest in between sessions at a conference. I didn’t have to speak at the evening session, so I spent much of the afternoon reading and writing. I had an upcoming due date for a project, so I decided to dig into it for a couple hours. I glanced at the time on my computer screen and was so thankful time seemed to be moving slowly, allowing me to enjoy the process and get some things done.

My peaceful afternoon was shattered by a frantic knock on my door and someone calling my name, “Susan, are you in there?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, good! We’re waiting for you before we begin dinner!”

What? I have another hour before dinner! According to my clock…on my computer…which is set for Central time at home…not Eastern time, where I was.

Oops.

I was ready to go, so it only took me a couple minutes to join the others, but I felt badly someone had to track me down to start the evening meal.

Sigh.

It was a good reminder that I need to check the clocks, instruments, and truths I’m living by. If I’m trusting the wrong ones, no matter how correct and content I may feel, I can easily be off base by just a little or a whole lot.

No amount of misunderstanding takes away the fact that we might be living contrary to the truth of the reality around us.

Perhaps it’s time for a reality check.

In fact, it’s always time for a reality check.