Pause
Another Day Along the Way
Friday, September 25, 2009
Another day,
Do you ever feel like you always catch the red lights when driving through town? I recently realized life can feel that way. Something, or Someone, is causing us to caution, to pause, to slow, to stop.
Think about our life experiences of pausing as a journey to a local traffic light. Think about it this way.
Driving along Life Street, I'm usually in a hurry. I'm not totally sure the number of times "usually" reveals, but I'm probably in a hurry more often than usually. So I've asked my Creator to slow me down. Disappointing to my personality and my preferred preferences, He heard that prayer. And He is working to answer it.
The Listener finds various ways to turn on caution lights or stop lights in my journey of life. I desire green. I seek to go. Moving forward toward another intersection of life, a next turn, the final destination. A goal to accomplish. A purpose to fulfill. A plan to finalize. But when I rush toward life, driving rapidly to that next duty, task, appointment, the Caution Light on Life Street comes on. Slow down, it says. Don't be in such a hurry, it says. Be still, it says. Caution, it says.
Some of us want to rush on through that calm yellow before noticing the controlling red. In life, not on the streets, we speed up our pace when a pause is pending. We hurry through in our purpose driven addiction.
Yesterday, I guided a group of students about hitting pause in life. About stopping for silence, for reverence, for meditation, for listening, for waiting, for staying. Instead of today's image of the Caution Light, in our class we've used the image of the Table. We think about Someone preparing a Table for us. Around enemies, around ourselves, amid our rush, among our friends, a Table is being prepared.
Will we take time to sit? To eat? To listen? Will we stop long enough to notice? Will we learn the wonder of a pause, a caution, a stop?
I'm trying. As I hurry to my next life street, I'm trying.
Along the way,
Chris Maxwell
Practical Suggestion: Intentionally drive in the slow lane. Intentionally choose the longest line at the bank or grocery store. Intentionally sit longer over your meal. Intentionally chew your food. Intentionally take a longer shower. Relish the time. (Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook)
Friday, September 25, 2009
Another day,
Do you ever feel like you always catch the red lights when driving through town? I recently realized life can feel that way. Something, or Someone, is causing us to caution, to pause, to slow, to stop.
Think about our life experiences of pausing as a journey to a local traffic light. Think about it this way.
Driving along Life Street, I'm usually in a hurry. I'm not totally sure the number of times "usually" reveals, but I'm probably in a hurry more often than usually. So I've asked my Creator to slow me down. Disappointing to my personality and my preferred preferences, He heard that prayer. And He is working to answer it.
The Listener finds various ways to turn on caution lights or stop lights in my journey of life. I desire green. I seek to go. Moving forward toward another intersection of life, a next turn, the final destination. A goal to accomplish. A purpose to fulfill. A plan to finalize. But when I rush toward life, driving rapidly to that next duty, task, appointment, the Caution Light on Life Street comes on. Slow down, it says. Don't be in such a hurry, it says. Be still, it says. Caution, it says.
Some of us want to rush on through that calm yellow before noticing the controlling red. In life, not on the streets, we speed up our pace when a pause is pending. We hurry through in our purpose driven addiction.
Yesterday, I guided a group of students about hitting pause in life. About stopping for silence, for reverence, for meditation, for listening, for waiting, for staying. Instead of today's image of the Caution Light, in our class we've used the image of the Table. We think about Someone preparing a Table for us. Around enemies, around ourselves, amid our rush, among our friends, a Table is being prepared.
Will we take time to sit? To eat? To listen? Will we stop long enough to notice? Will we learn the wonder of a pause, a caution, a stop?
I'm trying. As I hurry to my next life street, I'm trying.
Along the way,
Chris Maxwell
Practical Suggestion: Intentionally drive in the slow lane. Intentionally choose the longest line at the bank or grocery store. Intentionally sit longer over your meal. Intentionally chew your food. Intentionally take a longer shower. Relish the time. (Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook)
4 Comments:
I love the image of THE TABLE as a reminder to slow down. It relates to something I've been writing about lately--simple versus simplistic. Jesus' life was simple (and slow), but His message certainly was not simplistic.
Simple takes time; simplistic is a shortcut. THE TABLE is a simple but powerful image. Thanks.
Very good Chris. This is an area that needs some work on in our lives. Thanks for the reminder and the importance.
GOD bless you and your family richly.
Chris Your Words hit at a time I had lost focus on the main thing of My Faith.Trying to get all the things to happen when ,and how they should. I forgot the One and Only concern and Subjest of Life on this earth.God is the main Focus of Earth now, and the Future.I have had Family Members who didn't focus on God.When they died that was it. No Promise of life after this world.One lived by the idea the one with the most toys at the end won.He ended up havings lot of toys when He died.But no God.Maybe if it would have had a few red lights and fewer Toys,He would be with The Lord.Chris never stop stirring, God Bless.
Not easy but thats what I needed today.
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