Do you know anyone who is rushing out the front door in the morning, on a mad dash to an appointment, to the next meeting or event? Maybe you are the person who is rushing through the hours so fast the day is over before you know it. On occasion I’ve been so busy I wondered why my feet were hurting when I realized I’d been on them for 12 hours. It’s then I discover the day has slipped away while I was in rush mode. I have many days when I wonder where the day has gone — sometimes the week and even the year. My parents were right when they warned me time flies when you get older. I couldn’t wait to be a teenager. The next big milestone was sweet 16 — although I don’t know I was all that sweet. Then I couldn’t wait to get to college. Now the big “40” birthday has passed and I wonder where the time has gone.
What would happen if we stopped rushing? What would our lives be like if we slowed down enough to enjoy the stillness? It has to be good for us because God’s word tells us over and over again to “be still” in many scriptures.
In many ways we resemble a bright, burning light bulb which can effectively do its job but out of no where it can burn out with a quick flicker! We too can have a burn out. It could come out of nowhere and quickly burn out or slowly manifest itself in a physical or mental way.
My friend Zandra Whaley and I have had many discussions on the scriptures in the Bible on waiting patiently and being still. Both of us recognize the importance of this. Why else would God make sure it’s mentioned all through His word if it wasn’t something we could benefit from? Zandra and I both have stories of God confirming the relevance of the instruction. Some would make your arm hairs stand up.
Imagine a day where the rushing was limited. Imagine a day where you were driving out of the driveway without thoughts of ‘what did I forget’ running through your head or checking your shoes to make sure you put on a matching pair. Imagine a comfortable day where you enjoyed some quiet, still moments — moments where you appreciated simply being alive.
I think God wants us to have times of stillness so He can reintroduce us to our true self. More than that ... I think He wants us to “be still” which also translates to mean “wait” so we can hear from Him.
Enjoy the prayer, “Slow Me Down, Lord” by Wilferd A. Peterson
Ease the pounding of my heart
By the quieting of my mind.
Steady my harried pace
With a vision of the eternal reach of time.
Give me, admidst the confusions of my day,
The calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tensions of my nerves
With the soothing music of the sighing streams
That live in my memory.
Help me to know
The magical restoring power of sleep.
Teach me the art
Of taking minute vacations of slowing down to look at a flower;
To chat with an old friend or to make a new one;
To pat a stray dog,
To watch a spider build a web;
To smile at a child;
Or to read a few lines from a good book.
Remind me each day
That the race is not always to the swift;
That there is more to life than increasing its speed.
Let me look upward
Into the branches of the towering oak
And know that it grew slowly and well.
Slow me down, Lord,
And inspire me to send my roots deep
Into the soil of life’s enduring values
That I may grow toward the stars
Of my great destiny.
