Slow down, you're moving too fast...

[toad]

“Much of what is sacred is hidden in the ordinary, everyday moments of our lives. To see something of the sacred in those moments takes slowing down so we can live our lives more reflectively.”
KEN GIRE

“Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words.”
ECCLESIASTES 5:2-3 NIV

“Slow down, you’re moving too fast, you got to make the morning last. Just kicking down the cobble stones, looking at life and feeling groovy.” Some of you might remember this song from the sixties by the Young Rascals. Forty years ago the pace of life seemed fast. After all it wasn’t the forties or the fifties anymore, we were in the jet age, and our big V-8 cars traveled at seventy and eighty miles an hour. We were clipping along and doing just fine. Who would have ever thought that forty years later the pace of life, along with technology would have doubled or tripled? We are clipping along so fast these days that finding time for God, for prayer, for meditation, seems to be a task that never gets much attention. As I examine myself this day I find that I can be quick to pray, and often use many words. May I realize today that God doesn’t need a lot of words to understand my situation, or to hear my praise for the grace that has been extended to my life. God understands before I ever open my mouth, possibly my many words only confuses me, and could direct my prayer in the wrong direction. Today may I take the time to slow down and be more reflective of God in my life. And may my words be few, but filled with faith and honesty, and directed in the proper direction. Once again, the Word of God is doing for me today, what I could not do for myself………........toad

[best]

I remember riding down the highway on my new bike. I was doing 70 in a 65 MPH zone and enjoying my rebellious side in the wind on a fine day. About 20 years had passed before I returned to riding and I was feeling like that boy of 20 something years old again. I passed an old timer that was riding a full dresser. He was sitting back and enjoying his 60 MPH ride on a beautiful day. Same wind, same road, different thoughts.
Without words, his actions gave me an education that day. Slow down and enjoy the ride. Slow down and enjoy what the Lord has allowed into my life. Take in the smells, the colors, the warmth of the sun. The coolness of the rain. The peace that I gather just from riding.
I think in our gratefulness as we slow down and enjoy the things of life, we are saying a prayer. Our smile and inner peace must be telling the Father...We enjoy what You have given. I remember the feelings of joy I would get when someone opens up a gift and becomes filled with joy. The smile on their face says so much more then words ever could. Yes... even the joy and peace I could seek in a storm would shout out a prayer of thanks I would say.
Thank You Lord for all that You give us. *Smile*

[GlassPrisoner]

By lifting my obsession to drink and affecting a Spiritual Awakening in me, God has blessed me with the ability to see these things in every day life.

[namommy]

I needed to read this thread.

I need to slow down. With Steve (my husband) being sick and his health getting worse everyday, and kids to take care of. I forget to stop and just take a breath.

I get up at 5 am each day, I am out of the house by 6 to take an hour and a half commute into the city to work. my job is fast paced and hectic (but I love it) I get to help sick people in a low income community get quality healthcare and the meds they need. Part of my job is to do whatever it takes to get them their meds for free from the pharmaceutical companies. When a needy patient smiles at me and blesses me when I hand them a 3 or 6 month supply of meds for free, it makes the fast pace worth it. Then at the end of the day, another hour and a half to get home, eat dinner (or swallow food real fast) and back out the door to do whatever has to be done. Taking one of the kids to work or picking them up, boy scouts, cub scouts, doctors appointments, house hold chores, then fall into bed and NOT sleep because my head is racing with the things I have to do the next day.

The 2 days during the week, sometimes 3. when my husband and the boys go to scouts without me, and my daughter is at work and I am home alone. Then I can take time to call my sponsor, do some step work, read the bible, pray and take time to meditate. On those nights I find some peace and serenity within. I actually wake up feeling good the next morning, and I walk from the train station to work with a smile on my face.

People look at me weird on those mornings. I really don't live in the city of "Brotherly Love", it's more like the city of "Give your brother a shove".