Learning To Stop And Smell The Roses
At least twenty-five years ago, my entire family went to my mom and dad’s house for Christmas. We decided to play some games to keep the children entertained, so we turned off all the TVs and enjoyed each other’s company. We played a game called PASSWORD, where you can give clues to a secret word, and everyone must guess what the word is.
The way that the game was played was that you had a sleeve that had an open slot in it. You inserted a long card with many words written on it, and then you would slide it up to get the next word. Since so many of us were playing, we took one sleeve and passed it from person to person until we needed to insert a new card of words.
I think that my children were relatively young at this time, and I am going to guess that my youngest was around 8 or 9 years old. My son had just finished with his word, and passed it to the next player. I can’t remember all of the clues for the secret word, but I’ll never forget what the word was or the person who answered. The hidden word was “jaunt,” which isn’t exactly a word that is used regularly. And the person who guessed the clue was my youngest son, who didn’t use that word at all.
We were all amazed and awe-struck that he guessed the word. We couldn’t believe how smart he was. After lots of bragging on him and lots of questions, he finally confessed that he had sneaked and looked at the next word that was coming up after him. Lol! We laughed and laughed, and I couldn’t even be mad at him for cheating because I was laughing so hard. He had totally fooled every one of us.
I was thinking about that story this morning and remembering how much fun we had during that time. It was a time when time seemed to stand still. We weren’t running from place to place, and no one was checking their phones to see if they had missed a message. We were enjoying each other as a family and sitting still for a minute.
I know all of us have heard the phrase, “Stop and smell the roses.” I understand that it means to sit back and enjoy what is in front of you for just a minute beforehurryingf to your next destination. However, that is not my nature, and I bet it isn’t many of yours either.
Fast is our middle name. We want fast-food restaurants where we don’t even have to go inside to order or sit down to eat. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t have 20-30 minutes to sit down for a few minutes to eat? It isn’t that we don’t have the time; it is that we don’t want to take the time, which is an entirely different thing. I even have a 5-minute makeup routine that I do when I am in a hurry and recipes that can be on the table and ready to eat in 15 minutes.
We speed through commercials when we are watching a movie, we hit the skip ad button as soon as possible when watching a YouTube clip, and we buy pre-prepared and pre-packaged foods instead of making our own. I know that I am guilty of doing all of those things to some extent, and I bet most of you can also relate.
Boy, has everything changed in the blink of an eye. My husband, Joe, recently had a total knee replacement, and our busy life has come to a screeching halt. He has to ask for help, which he doesn’t like to do. I’ve had to break away from my busy schedule to do small tasks for him, like making breakfast or refilling the ice machine for his knee. It has been an eye-opening experience for both of us, and we have been forced to slow everything down.
Jeremiah 2:25 (MSG)
25 “Slow down. Take a deep breath. What’s the hurry? Why wear yourself out? Just what are you after anyway? But you say, ‘I can’t help it. I’m addicted to alien gods. I can’t quit.’
In the NIV version, it says: Do not run until your feet are bare and your throat is dry. Wow! The questions, “What’s the hurry,” and “What are you after anyway?” make me stop and pause. But the answer, “I am addicted to alien gods,” got me thinking. Are we addicted to being busy? Are our phones something that we are addicted to? How many of you take your phone to the bathroom with you?
I know that every day is not going to be a good day. Our stress levels are high, and our tempers are getting shorter and shorter. But, if we take each day and look for something good, we will get through this a much happier person. Slow down long enough to count your blessings. You can rest assured that Joe won’t be going for a jaunt, at least not today.
To GOD Goes The Glory!
Have A Blessed Day!
Timely and accurate post. Thanks for the encouragement!
That reminds me of when the ice storm of ’94 hit. A lot of people have terrible memories of having no power, but what stuck with me was those days of playing board games with my extended family. We’ve always been game players, and that was a time when not much else was available. I still love those rare occasions of snow days and such when we just stay in the house and enjoy each other. I will, however, always skip the commercials when I can! HA!
I had surgery three years ago for a tumor on my pancreas. It was a 7-hour-long surgery that changed our lives forever. All the business in our lives totally stopped and we learned to embrace the small moments of enjoying life. God has been my healer and the solid rock we have clung to every day.
Sheryl, that was a crazy long surgery! I’m glad that the Lord was with you and healed you.
Thank you for sharing these thoughts today. I need to remember to slow down and bask in the blessings I already have from our good and gracious God!
Love this post!! Yes, we all need to slow down and rest.
Your message was perfect for me. We all need to stop and smell the roses while we can.
Cathy A
Wow!!! That was a really good one today!!!
I didn’t even know about the verse in Jeremiah….so relevant today!
Thanks Tania…
Thanks again for your thoughtful post. We had to slow down too, because I had hand surgery, yes in both hands, several weeks later we have both hands feeling better.
My husband has had extra patience. Together it was good to smell the roses too.
Great info to “Be Still and Know I am God”. This verse always puts me in the “skeeching hault “ mode.
And it feels just great. 😊
Wow! I see myself in this post. I am so glad you shared this today.
I hope your husband does really well with the new knee.
Great story. Reminds me of childhood Christmases. I am so guilty of being in too much of a hurry.
Password, remember playing the game, and watching it on TV!
What a great read for us. Since we left the metro Atlanta area in late 2016 and moved to a very rural part of south central GA, we have enjoyed the slower pace of life. I do not miss the rat race one bit. Since my cervical surgery on Jan. 17th, I have been forced to slow down. It will be several months before I can resume all of my normal activities. My personality is a care giver, so it is not easy at all for me to ask for help from others, even when I am feeling overwhelmed. I have no problem asking God for help.
Ginger, I had no idea you lived in Atlanta! You seem like you’ve always lived in the country.
I always look forward to your Sunday posts. They are the first ones I read on Sunday mornings.
Have a Blessed day !
I’m glad you enjoy them, Jeanie!
Beautiful Post. I remember the Password game!
Beautiful message once again.
So very true in todays world..
Slow down.
Excellent post! Btw, try frozen small bottles of water in your ice machine…it will save your ice maker from working so hard! Wishing him a complete recovery!
That’s what we been doing, and it does help some.
Tania, your storytelling captures those golden memories of our lives before the wide-world web. A positive reminder to slow down; God’s Blessings evoke calmness and peacefulness for our hearts and mind!
Great advice!
So true! A good reminder for all of us.
Tania! You did it again! What a wonderful post and great reminder to SLOW down…Lent is such a good time for reflection… a time to really reflect on what is truly important… Jesus🙏🙏🙏 Happy Sunday❤❤❤
Thank you for sharing your Sunday post! I always look forward to them as I always seem to have a connection to them!
I agree with you we all need to slow down and smell the roses!! It seems since I retired three years ago, each day goes by faster and faster then when I was working! Its crazy!
I too, have been taking care of my husband since he had his neck surgery a month ago. I was doing everything for him as well, when he was always used to doing everything himself. It sure changed up my routine for awhile. Slowly but surely he is getting better!!
I wish Joe a great recovery and you both will be back enjoying the things you love to do!
Yes, life is too short. When we lived in Sparta, my relatives would visit every Thanksgiving and Christmas. My Aunt Ruth would bring a 1000 piece puzzle we would all work on together. No one was allowed to leave until it was completed. They are gone now, and my husband and I find ourselves searching for the puzzle that helped us all make time to, Stop and Smell the Roses”.
I love doing puzzles. When I had surgery several years ago, sitting and working a puzzle was a way for me to calm down.
Thanks for sharing! I totally loved the inspiration!
Thank you for that reminder. We have moments that make up lifetimes and we should consider how we use those moments. Moses reminded us to number our days carefully.
what a lovely message. thank you!
Business has become a god for sure. Our culture shames you if you’re not doing something 24/7. My commitment during Lent is to deepen my prayer life and that means giving up busy time. Prayers for continued healing for Joe.
That is a wonderful commitment for Lent.
Thank you. I learn many different things from you. Well worth my time.
Very good message. Most of my life I was in a hurry. The first thing I thought of in the passage about idols made me think of phones. I only take my phone to the bathroom if I am expecting an important call. I don’t think it’s sanitary. Lol. Anybody remember that Seinfeld episode with George taking a library book to the bathroom. Same principle with phones in my view. 😊
Laughed at taking your phone to the bathroom- since so many have iwatch it’s difficult to get away from the phone. Lol I know I need to get away from the phone – so a good reminder this morning.
Great post! So true everything is instant immediate gratification. My grandchildren wanted to use my phone to take pictures and I was explaining that there was a time not that long ago you had to use a camera and wouldn’t know if the picture turned out until the film was developed. They thought I was making that up 🤣.
Good reminder to slow down and enjoy and appreciate God’s many blessings.
I have to ask….you have an ice cream maker in your home?
Oh, Tania, what a great message! We really do need to slow down and appreciate all of God’s great universe!
Beautiful message this Sunday morning Tania. To God goes the glory!
That was one of your BEST posts that many of us need to hear. During COVID, I had family dinners again on Sundays. My grandchildren wern’t running from one sport event to another. (I am certainly not objecting to kids being in sports). However, it has affected our family getting together . Also, I am guilty of the “Phone” thing and am trying to cut back on that with the exception of two Bible devotional apps I start my day with. Glad to hear Joe is coming along well after his knee replacement and will keep praying for his complete recovery.
Thank you Tania, for a beautiful post today, and a much needed reminder about taking time. Time to appreciate our blessings, and the people we have been blessed to have in our lives.
I so look forward to your Sunday posts.
Wishing you and Joe well, and hopefully he will be off on a jaunt in the near future.
Great reminder Tania!
Hope Joe is improving and doing better each day!! You are so right, we need to slow down and stop and smell the roses!!! We need to take some time for the Lord and each other, to talk and to listen!!!
I have been battling cancer for the past year. Talk about your life coming to a screeching halt. You realize very quickly what is important in your life and what deserves your attention and what does not. Thank you for your Sunday stories. I love them.
Susan, I am so sorry you have been going through this. I remember hearing a lady talk about getting the diagnosis of breast cancer, and she said the world stood still.
Wonderful message today to remind us to slow down a bit and not put so much pressure on ourselves to always make things perfect. I will practically break my back trying to finish my to do list before I go to bed when I know that I can finish it the next day. The pressure we put on ourselves….
Thanks for that! It’s so true, I know I’m guilty of all the above.
This is so true! Idk how life gets so busy. I remember ten years ago hardly no one would get sick. Now days especially this winter it’s been flu A, flu B, covid, sinus infections, rsv, hand foot and mouth, strep throat, inflammation, the list goes on and on. My family and community have fought this all winter. I trust God with it all, I just wonder if everyone else is fighting this and is it because we are too busy?
Thanks for this post. I have been so aware this new year that “I am always in a hurry!” And it is exhausting! Working on “Be still and know that I am God.” I am a work in progress but it helps to know others have the same challenges.
My problem is that I LIKE being busy. I hate down time.
Amen to slowing down! Enjoy your time together!
Good one!
I always look forward to your emails. Not just for bargains and up to date shopping ideas but wonderful uplifting life stories. Thank you for the blessings you share each day!!
I love that you are able to stop and slow down! Giving God my day and listening to Him is my goal each day of the week! Thanks for sharing Jesus’s word with me today! Many blessings to you and for Joe to heal quickly!
Thanks, Elizabeth. I know Joe appreciates everyone thinking of him.
This was a great message everyone needs to hear! Thank you.
I’m reminded of the verse, “Be still and know that I am God”. I love your devotional.
Thank you for this reminder.
Amen! Sometimes I think we all just need a gentle reminder or nudge, so thank you for this wonderful message!
Enjoy the day
This post was so interesting. A peek into your life which shows similarities in my life too. We all need to slow down for sure. Let’s not wait until we are forced. Let’s slow down on purpose. Thanks for the reminder. BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.
Yes, God will make sure we slow down, even if HE is the one who makes us take the time.
What a wonderful story and message! Life is certainly coming at us too fast!
What a great message! Our world is spinning with bad news everywhere so we need to sit down and take a breather. We need to enjoy our time together and savor each moment that we can. We all are too busy, too busy might mean we are afraid to slow down or say no. What’s the rush we all need to give ourselves a break in life. May God bless you and Joe.My husband had knee surgery and I had to do the same thing, but he is always there for me, like your Joe. We are very blessed.
This is a great reminder that I needed today!
Great reminder!
Loved playing games with the family. Usually on Sunday it was Pokeno or Michigan Rummy!!! We all got to play and we used pennies to put in the pot!! I still have the games today. Wish we had those days back-especially the Sundays. You know every one laughs at the Blue Bloods endings with the family around the dinner table on Sunday-well that was my family-was a wonderful time for all of us
Love this! Thanks for the reminder to slow down and enjoy a slower pace.
Hope Joe is recovering nicely it’s a slow go, but he will to Golfing soon.
Thank you for another great reminder and obeying the Lord! I have you on my prayer list and will add your husband.
Thanks, Sharon! The Lord hears the prayers of the righteous, and I love that we are included in yours.
I’ve had both my knees replaced— please tell Joe that, in my opinion, it is a long and slow rehab. Even though they have made real progress in the procedure, it is still a MAJOR surgery. My motto to all my friends is to remember— “ slow and steady wins the race”. He will get there, especially with a wonderful caregiver and partner by his side!!
This is a great reminder to pause, listen to your thoughts in some quiet time! I feel that being busy all the time is very similar to always having noise (podcast, music, TV on, etc.); pause in the silence and just be!
Thank you for the reminder!!!
That is my issue, I don’t like not being busy. Plus, I need some noise around me, but I never have on the TV.
Hi Tania,
Great blog! We all need to be reminded to stop and smell the roses. We are always on high gear and going 90 MPH most days and we are retired! Today it is raining so it gives me a reason to pause………take it easy…….relax…….be a little lazy……enjoy the calm!
Thank you for the reminder! Linda M
My lazy time is when I go to bed. I usually go to bed at least 30 minutes early so I can scroll on my phone. Even my rest time involves my phone.