Slow Down And Just Be

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“Being in a hurry. Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me. I cannot think of a single advantage I’ve ever gained from being in a hurry. But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, lie in the wake of all the rushing…. Through all that haste I thought I was making up time. It turns out I was throwing it away” (Ann Voskamp, 1000 Gifts).

Two words: slow down.

All around me all I see is impatience. On my commute to and from work, I see that the majority of people have an extreme lack of patience and an acute inability to wait. But good things come to those who wait, as I have tested and found true over the course of my life.

You can’t rush maturity. You can’t rush healing. You can’t rush growth. All the things that are worthwhile in this life take time. There is no microwave shortcut to becoming your best self.

I’m learning how to be still and listen. I’m still not very good at it. I can’t seem to quiet my mind long enough to hear anything outside my own head sometimes. But if you can be still and silent, maybe you will hear the whisper of God over you and find healing and salvation there.

Slow down and steep yourself in as many moments as possible. Put down the social media and actually be present in your own life. See what’s around you and look for God in all the places and people around you and you will find joy and blessing there.

God still says to you and me to be still and know that He is God. Cease striving. You will never find God in the hustle and bustle. It’s in the silence and solitude that God speaks to us.

Slow down.

Of All The Days I’ve Ever Lived

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Of all the days I’ve ever lived in all my life, this was one of them. I think that sums it up rather well. It wasn’t the worst and it wasn’t the best.

I have a dog snoring rather loudly close to where I’m sitting as I type all this. That more than makes up for any difficulties I encountered today (which were few and none too serious).

I know I say it all the time, but I’m saying it again: being alive is the gift. Waking up is grace. Everything else is gravy. Everything else is the icing on top.

Being thankful in all things is a discipline that requires effort (more on some days than on others ). Seeing each day as a gift and looking for the gifts in each day doesn’t come naturally. It takes time and patience and endurance.

Plus, tomorrow’s Friday. That’s always a good thing.

It’s Still a Ruff Life

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Last night, Millie (the 16-year old Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen I am looking after) decided to grace me with her presence and fell asleep on the floor next to my bed. Which is all good until she started snoring like an old man. Needless to say, I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep that night.

I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’d gladly have less sleep (and more of an excuse for more coffee) to have this memory.

I love how dogs (and cats, too) can be such loyal creatures. They stick around, no matter what. It always makes my heart happy to see how excited Millie is to see me every time I walk through the door after work. I’m sure her owners feel the same way.

I truly hope and pray this isn’t the last time I get to take care of this elderly canine. She really is just about the easiest and most low-maintenance dog I’ve ever cared for in my brief but interesting dog-sitting career.

I supposed I’d better sign off and take this pup for one last short walk for the evening.

See you all tomorrow.

 

While You’re Here

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I heard something tonight at Kairos that got me thinking.

Basically, the main speaker, Chris Brooks, was speaking of relationships and said something to the effect that one of the things a woman should look for in a man is how he is investing in his friends and giving himself away for those he loves. Chris said that true love doesn’t wait in the sense that you don’t wait until you’ve found that special someone to become the right person.

Maybe that applies to more than just relationships.

Perhaps you’re in a job that’s not your dream job. Work as though it were your dream job and give your absolute best every single day, and maybe one day a door will open for you to find your dream job.

Maybe you’re in a season of life that isn’t where you thought you would have been in by now. Learn to embrace your circumstances and find the joys in each day of living– including the ultimate gift of being alive.

Don’t mark time while you wait the next phase of life. Be the best possible you, trust God as fully as you know how, and leave the results to Him. Do everything in your power to make the small world around you, and the people in it, better for your having been there.

There is no rewind on the remote control of life. You don’t ever get to go back and relive a moment once it’s gone. The key is to live each moment while it’s still in the present rather than looking ahead to what may be or looking back to what might have been.

In the Bible, Ruth didn’t waste time chasing down her Boaz. She was faithful where she was to the one she was with– her mother-in-law. She loved and served  the person right in front of her with everything she had.

I can think of no better example of how to live in a season of waiting.

 

Not All Who Wander Are Lost

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I had a frustrating experience today. I had my massive quantities of potato salad in tow and was on my way to a singles cookout at Edwin Warner Park for this Memorial Day. The only issue I had was that I never got there.

I spent at least an hour driving up and down Highway 100, walking up and down a few trails, to no avail. I still have no idea where pavilion #9 is. I gave up and went back home.

A thought popped in my head: if that’s the worst that ever happens to me, I’m doing okay. I’m not saying I want to repeat the experience. It was like something out of one of the nightmares I used to have where I never could find what I was looking for.

But look at the upside. I had a nice drive with some good tunes playing in my car. I got some exercise in. I emerged unscathed and only mildly annoyed. I think I will survive.

People I know have been through far worse. Some are in the midst of going through far worse. Some are getting very close to saying a final goodbye to loved ones.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that the same God who makes sunshine and sunny days also walks with us through the deepest darkest valleys imaginable. He takes the absolute worst case scenario and turns even that into something glorious and good. That’s what God does.

That doesn’t make the dark days any less bleak. It does provide a ray of hope in the midst of those days. It means that your worst moment will never be your last moment. God will make it right. He will see to it.

I still have lots of potato salad left over if anyone wants some. It’s really good.

 

The Paraclete

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“I will ask the Father to send you another Helper, the Spirit of truth, who will remain constantly with you. The world does not recognize the Spirit of truth, because it does not know the Spirit and is unable to receive Him. But you do know the Spirit because He lives with you, and He will dwell in you” (John 14:16-17, The Voice).

I saw something remarkable today. I’m a greeter at The Church at Avenue South, so I stood at my usual position at the front door and welcomed the good folks on their way into the building.

I saw an older man walking beside a younger man. Upon further inspection, he had his arm around the younger man’s arm, guiding him toward the door. As they drew nearer, it became apparent that the young man was blind. Ok, so I can be a little slow on the uptake sometimes.

That to me was a beautiful picture of the Holy Spirit, who is often called the Paraclete. That translates as Comforter, but it literally means “One who walks alongside.”

I couldn’t help thinking after this morning how often the Holy Spirit will come alongside us and guide us into truth in much the same way. I know that I can so often be like the Pharisees who bragged about how they could see but were really so blind to the truths coming out of Jesus’ mouth.

Often, I need help getting where Jesus wants me to go. On my own, I’ve been known to stray from the narrow path and miss what Jesus is trying to tell me.

That picture will always be in my mind. It wasn’t a picture of someone being frog-marched against their will but of gentle nudges in the right direction. It was complete trust and surrender that the one leading knew best.

Do you and I trust that the Holy Spirit of God knows best? Will we allow ourselves to be lead by Someone who knows where He is leading us and that it is for our ultimate good? Will we surrender to our ideas of where we need to go and what we need to do and simply follow unquestioningly without hesitation?

That’s my prayer for tonight. I hope it’s yours as well.

Your Narnia Fix

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Here’s a sample out of my favorite of all the Narnia books. You may have a different book that you prefer, but this one is the one I love to read the most when I make my yearly visit to The Chronicles of Narnia.

Enjoy.

“‘And where are we heading for?’ asked Edmund.

‘Well,” said Caspian, ‘that’s rather a long story. Perhaps you remember that when I was a child my usurping uncle Miraz got rid of seven friends of my father’s (who might have taken my part) by sending them off to explore the unknown Eastern Seas beyond the Lone Islands.’

‘Yes,” said Lucy, ‘and none of them ever came back.’

‘Right. Well, on my coronation day, with Aslan’s approval, I swore an oath that, if once I established peace in Narnia, I would sail east myself for a year and a day to find my father’s friends or to learn of their deaths and avenge them if I could. . . . That is my main intention. But Reepicheep here has an even higher hope.’

Everyone’s eyes turned to the Mouse.

‘As high as my spirit,’ it said. ‘Though perhaps as small as my stature. Why should we not come to the very eastern end of the world? And what might we find there? I expect to find Aslan’s own country. It is always from the east, across the sea, that the great Lion comes to us.’

‘I say, that is an idea,’ said Edmund in an awed voice.

‘But do you think,” said Lucy, “Aslan’s country would be that sort of country—I mean, the sort you could ever sail to?’

‘I do not know, Madam,” said Reepicheep. “But there is this. When I was in my cradle, a wood woman, a Dryad, spoke this verse over me:

Where sky and water meet,

Where the waves grow sweet,

Doubt not, Reepicheep,

To find all you seek,

There is the utter East.

“I do not know what it means. But the spell of it has been on me all my life.’

From The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Compiled in A Year with Aslan

It’s a Ruff Life

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So here I am, dog sitting again. Just me and the pooch, hanging out on a Friday night. I do lead the wild and crazy life.

The dog in question is Millie, who is at least 16 years old. You’d never guess it from the wildly enthusiastic greeting she gave me when I walked through the door. We’re buds.

I still think everyone needs a dog (or a cat) to help them to learn to slow down and savor the simple things, like a head rub or a good poop (which is highly underrated in my opinion) or a well-deserved nap. 

I read recently that true wealth isn’t about having more stuff but in having fewer wants. Dogs must be the richest creatures on the planet, because they are satisfied with the simple joys of life.

Lord, help me to be like that and to enjoy every momentary joy of this wonderful life as it comes my way and to not take any of it for granted. Amen.

There Will Be Days

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“How fortunate are those You discipline, O Eternal One,
    those You train by Your divine law;
You relieve them in times of distress,
    until a grave is dug for evildoers” (Psalm 94:12-13, The Voice).

There will be days when you’re not at your best. You won’t be 100% and you might even feel a bit fuzzy-headed.

There will be days when all the old fears and anxieties that you thought you had mastered come rushing back once more to haunt you.

There will be days when it feels like two steps forward and roughly about 9,998 steps backward.

There will be days when the lies seem so much easier to believe than God’s promises and God seems so very far away.

There will be days that you start off already feeling weary and worn even before your first cup of coffee.

God uses even these days to mature you and prune you and refine you. God works even these days for your ultimate good.

You can still find blessings and gifts on days like these if you know where to look and how to look in anticipation with joy and thanksgiving.

These days still only last 24 hours and not one second longer.

You will get through. God will see to it.

 

What I’m Up To These Days

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So I’m sure that many of you are dying to know what I’ve been up to lately. You know, like what amazing music I’m listening to and what great restaurants I’ve been frequenting. Because I am such the trend-setter.

I’ve continued my old-school trend. In the car today, I listened to a Steely Dan retrospective and Miles Davis’ Miles Ahead (another fantastic collaboration between Miles and Gil Evans).

I tried out a new (to me) Thai restaurant on 8th Avenue South called the Smiling Elephant. It was as good as the hype had led me to believe it would be. If you go there, be sure to order the Pad Thai. You will be wanting to slap yo momma.

I picked up a classic devotional at Goodwill called Come Away, My Beloved. Think of it as a kind of early version of Jesus Calling. And it was only $2.99. Win.

I’m still trying to figure out how to slow down and savor more when I’m reading God’s Word. I’m ahead of schedule on my plan to read through the Bible in a year (I’m working through Isaiah as of this writing) and I don’t want to speed-read through and miss out on what God might want to say to me.

Oh, and I could use a couple extra hours in the day, solely for the purpose of getting more sleep. I find that 5:15 comes ridiculously early these days, though it is nice to see the sun already rising when I wake up.

Every day of life is still a miracle not to be wasted on bitterness, regret, anger, fear, or envy. Every set of 24 hours is unique and precious and will not come again, so make the most of each day like it might be your last. Don’t die wishing you could have a second chance to do what you never got to do the first time.