LEARNING TO STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES

At least twenty 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 of the TVs and just enjoyed each other’s company. We played a game called PASSWORD were you can give out clues to a secret word, and everyone has to 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 that had lots of words written on it, and then you would slide it up to get the next word. Since there were so many of us playing, we took one sleeve and just 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 then he passed it to the next player. I can’t remember what all of the clues that were given out for the secret word, but I’ll never forget what the word was, or the person that 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 where 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 just enjoying each other as a family and sitting still for a minute.

I know that all of us have heard the phrase “stop and smell the roses.” I know that it means to sit back and enjoy what is in front of you for just a minute before you hurry off 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 You-Tube 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 a blink of an eye. I’ve seen things in specific industries slow down, and I’ve seen countries go through rough periods. But, I don’t think that I’ve ever seen the entire world come to a grinding halt. The breaks have been applied, and everything is slowing down for the vast majority of us. Trips have been canceled, appointments are called off, and we find ourselves looking for ways to earn and income or keep ourselves occupied.

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 of, “I am addicted to alien gods” got me to 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 are 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, don’t go for a jaunt.

Have A Blessed Day!