The Long Blue Line (Winter 2021)

CHAPLAIN'S CORNER
erhaps you’ve heard the story of the
P
teacher who decided to teach his
class a very important lesson one
day.* He called three students to the front of
the class and gave each one a small pile of
sand, a small pile of pebbles, a small pile of
larger rocks, and a jar.
He gave each student the assignment of fitting
as much of each item into the jar as possible.
The first student placed the sand in the jar,
then the small pile of pebbles, and only had
room for one or two of the rocks to fit in the jar.
The second student began by placing the
pebbles in first, then the sand, and then the
rocks. That student was able to fit three or four
of the rocks into the jar, but still had a few left
over.
The third student observed the other two
and decided to alter course. First, he placed
the large rocks in the jar. Then he placed
the pebbles in, working to make sure that
the pebbles filled the spaces between the
larger rocks. Finally, he took the sand, and
with careful effort, he worked the sand into
the spaces between the pebbles. With all the
items inside the jar, the student proudly placed
the lid on the jar and held it up for the teacher
to see.
The teacher then explained to the class that
our lives are like that jar. We often try to fit so
many things into our lives and find that we just
cannot seem to make it all fit. While we can
never do it all in life, we should learn the lesson
of putting the big rocks in first.
The big rocks are the things that really matter
most. Too many of us go through life and
realize that we have fit all kinds of pursuits and
activities into our lives, but sadly have never
managed to fit the big rocks in.
What are the “big rocks” in your life? For many,
they are treasures like family relationships,
practicing our faith, and nurturing cherished
friendships.
We can all stand to occasionally re-evaluate
how we spend our time and energy, making
sure we give these “big rocks” the place they
deserve.
Andrew Hoyle, LT, CHC, USN
Base National Capital Region Chaplain
*A number of variations of this story have been told, with multiple applications. The original source of this story is unknown to the author.
U.S. COAST GUARD RETIREE INFORMATION
THE LONG BLUE LINE WINTER 2021
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