Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Psalm 37:7
Cheerfully adapted from Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott, some of our favorite folks: How many of you are familiar with John Ortberg? He is one of the most down to earth writers on heavenly issues you’ll ever find. www.amazon.com/John-Ortberg/e/B001H6O91W In his book The Life You’ve Always Wanted, he has a chapter called “An Unhurried Life” in which he tells the story of getting some spiritual direction from a wise friend shortly after moving to Chicago.
“I described [to my friend] the pace at which things tend to move in my current setting,” John writes. He also told his friend about the fast clip of his family life. “What did I need to do,” John asked, “to be spiritually healthy?” After a quiet moment, his friend finally spoke: “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”
Another long pause.
“Okay, I’ve written that one down,” John told him, a little impatiently.“That’s a good one. Now, what else is there?”
John had a lot to do and he was already running late for an appointment, so, as he puts it, “I was anxious to cram as many units of spiritual wisdom into the least amount of time possible.”
Another long pause on the line.
“There is nothing else,” his wise friend said. “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”
Don ‘t hurry. Don’t worry. You’re only here for a short visit. So don’t forget to stop and smell the roses. –Walter Hagen American Golf Pro 1892-1969
That’s it. His spiritual mentor could have given him a laundry list of things to do that would have aligned his spirit with the Almighty. But that’s all he suggested. There’s nothing else but to eliminate hurry from your life. Brilliantly simple, don’t you think?
Look, it’s not about suddenly deciding to be chronically late as you dawdle through life, but it is about deciding what is important and what isn’t. Most of you know the story about “saving the good stuff for a special occasion.”
There was a man who loved his wife very much. He stood in front of a closet and looked at his wife’s Victoria’s Secret lingerie. I was a very special lingerie. Expensive, sexy, and his wife had told him it made her feel beautiful when she tried it on. Since the time she had bought it, she kept it in the nice box the salesperson had used to wrap it in. His wife had always kept the nightie for a special occasion, and had not worn it yet. They were just too busy…but someday…The man put the lingerie back into the box and took it with him. He went to his wife’s funeral, she had died of cancer the day before. At the end of the services, he lovingly placed the box in the coffin. His wife had really loved that sheer sexy outfit, but she never took the time to wear it because she wanted to save it for a special occasion.
So what could the two of you stop doing this very day that would eliminate hurry from your life together – so you can regain more time together? Are you saving “stuff” or “memory opportunities” or “dates” or “long weekends” or “carved out time together at the end of the day” for one of these days or… Nothing is more important in your home than what we call “I and You” time. Make it happen today. This day won’t ever be retrievable. What are you waiting for? Reflect and Respond What’s one concrete thing you can do today that will help you recoup more time together as a couple? Here’s a hint. It isn’t something that will just “Happen” to you…you’ll have to consciously make it happen. Today would be a good day to start.
