Sat., Nov. 23, 2018

Job 18:7 – Their strong strides slow down; their plans trip themselves.   

Today, we slowed down. Hubby Rick and I. He slept late. I had visitors. I worked on some things I wanted to get done. Rick got the snowblower ready for winter. We went for a long walk. I folded laundry. We ate leftovers.

We slowed down.

Yes, I had invitations to go shopping on Black Friday. Sorry sister and sister-in-laws: it’s not that I didn’t want to spend time with you. I just wasn’t sure I wanted to be with a whole bunch of people shopping today.

I wanted to slow down.

Already, I’ve read multiple times about people who are anxious about what they need to do before Christmas.

Yikes. I don’t have any Christmas lists made yet.

I want to think differently about Christmas this year.

I want to slow down, relish the moments, skip the craziness and enjoy the moments.

I realize this is a lot like my post on Thanksgiving.

Yep, it’s where my heart is at right now.

I see it all around me. We are in too much of a hurry. We all (including myself at times) want shortcuts. We want the quick fix, expedited shipping for free, instant results and efficiency at its finest. Because, you know, we have SO MUCH TO DO.

Maybe, just maybe, can we expect LESS this holiday season? Can we be happy with OK and pleasantly surprised when something happens better than we anticipated because we had low expectations?

Can we just slow down and enjoy the moment rather than running through them, onto the next best and greatest “experience” we can check off an imaginary list?

Maybe I’m taking to heart this saying I read today (with slight modifications made by me):

Before a person can do things, there must be things this person will not do.

Every time we choose to do something, we also choose not to do a whole bunch of other things. Every time we choose not to do something, we are freed up to do something that we find personally meaningful and gratifying.

For just a few minutes, slow down. Think about what slowing down in your life would look like and mean.

For time to slow down, I am grateful.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for encouraging me to slow down. To let my soul catch up with my mind. For moments to just enjoy rather than frantically rush. Help me to choose the right things to not do this Advent and Christmas season. Amen.

Blessings –

Dianne

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