One of the coolest words of childhood during the winter months is accumulation.  It’s not enough for there to be flurrie of snow: there must be enough snow to get a principal or central office to cancel school for the day.  The more snow, the better the sledding and snowmen and snowball fights.

Unfortunately, accumulation isn’t such a good thing in adulthood.  In fact, it can be quite dangerous professionally.  Starting one meeting late isn’t that big of a deal.  The same can be said for not finishing a class on time or missing a deadline of the minor kind.  But multiple late meetings?  Multiple missed deadlines?  Those things add up, flake adds onto flake, until you have a completely different landscape.  It’s a landscape that you can get trapped in and that others have a difficult time maneuvering through.

Be careful of accumulation.  The joy of winter is one thing.  The day-in and day-out of work and ministry is a different thing entirely. It’s the accumulation that can turn questioning people off or away.  That’s the kind of accumulation we cannot afford.