Save a little time . . . For love.

Greg Austin │13 September, 2007

The decade of the 1970’s was in its infancy when a young, bearded and very talented singer from Dallas, Texas broke from the local coffee-house circuit into national recognition with a unique blend of country and folk music.

His name was B.W. Stevenson. Some folks joked that the “B.W.” stood for “Big and Wide” because of the man’s intimidating size. But he was no bully, no macho man. To the contrary, his songs were laced with sweetness, compassion, and love.

I was immediately a fan, and can recall several of B.W.’s songs; each, in its own way my “favorite song.” One of them came whispering out of the shadows of my memory bank this morning. Almost as if B.W. were singing again, I heard in the concert hall of my mind, “Save a little time, Save a little time, Save a little time for love . . .”

This morning, I was being pulled in several directions all at once: Responsibilities, priorities, immediate “do this first” needs were vying for my undivided and unequivocal attention. I found myself nearly hyper-ventilating at the thought of all the things that I need to do today. And it was in that frantic moment that I heard B.W.’s voice, sweetly singing from way back there, 37 years ago, “Save a little time for love.”

There is so much “stuff” in all of our lives. “Stuff” that is important, “stuff” that won’t wait. “Stuff” that we can’t ignore. And all the while there is somebody, somewhere within our reach, maybe even within our own house who is in need of a little love.

And that’s the “real stuff” that needs doing; the phone call, the visit, the hand-written card, the thoughtful gesture that can make a difference in the way somebody is making it through the day.

Yesterday I was stuck in traffic, and decided to take a quick left turn into an alley-way to by-pass the jam of slow moving vehicles in front of me. Coming through the alley, I approached a cross-street, but because of the buildings and trees in front of me, both directions were “blind” to me. And suddenly, a young man appeared, crossing the alley in front of me. Then, he did an amazing thing: Looking both ways (twice, just like mother taught us), he motioned to me with the universal “coast-is-clear, come on through” sign.

As I drove past the man, I thanked him. His response was a quick, “You got it, Brother!”

I don’t know the man. We’ll likely never meet. But he touched me. He changed my attitude. He invested in somebody he doesn’t even know. He called me, “Brother,” and why not? We’re fellow pilgrims, on the journey of life, and each of us, no matter what anybody might think, needs a little love.

So in the midst of your busy and unrelenting schedule, I invite you to take the advice of B.W. Stevenson, a young singer whom the world barely remembers, because just a few, short years after he penned the lyrics that filled my mind this morning, Jesus called Him to Himself. B.W. took flight into a world beyond this brief experience, but his voice remains with us, and his song keeps playing, "Save a little time, save a little time, save a little time for love. Look above, and save a little time for love."