It started out with good intent. I was going to have a slow morning and sit on my wonderful new porch with a cup of coffee and enjoy the morning light in our wonderful new back yard (I recently moved into a wonderful new house). It was a very nice time with the Lord. Then it was time to go inside and proceed with my morning.
But I was locked outside. So, I pulled at the locked door (why do we do that to locked doors?). I threw things at my room mate Hilliary's window. I knocked on the walls hoping someone would hear me. I threw more things at Hilliary's window... Nothing.
Then I realized is that maybe God had a tiny thought for me in this silly experience (a thought other than make sure the knob is unlocked before you go on the porch).
Slow down.
See, I thought that's what I was doing drinking coffee on my porch on this Tuesday morning: slowing down. But then I was ready to rush off and move mountains and partake in today's activities. But I think the whole point of this is to not rush off - to not leave the 'slow down with the Lord' moments in the rear view mirror every day. We do that way too much. We leave the peace and quiet in the morning stillness (if we even get that time every day) and dive into our daily schedules with no company but our own human drive to be productive and accomplish things. But when we leave that slow down peace behind us each day, we leave behind our abiding in the Lord, too. And when we don't abide, we're just doing life for and by ourselves, and we're just not wired for that. Well, maybe you are. I know I'm not. I mean, who gets locked out on their porch in their pajamas for 45 minutes at 7:15 in the morning? Sheesh.
Abiding in the Lord means that there should be no shift between the "slow down" of the morning stillness and the "speed up" of jumping into our schedules. It's not two different things, morning with Him and day at work, because it's all His. He is in all of it. We waste our productive energy and time on this earth if we leave our awareness of Him back in the 3o minute allotment of "Jesus" time we squeeze into our schedules each day. No doubt it's a good 30 minutes - He's faithful to that. But if that door had been unlocked when I turned the knob this morning, I would have simply left that quiet time with Him on the porch and stepped into transition - a busy day of doing stuff. But stuff is just stuff if we leave Him out of it. There should be no transition, no proceeding forth and no now my day starts. He alone makes life significant, so we really ought to slow our brains, cool our jets, and keep Him in every moment.
Otherwise, you may find yourself locked out on your porch in your pajamas for 45 minutes at 7:15 in the morning.
Well said Emily!!
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