It's a lazy Saturday. It is a glorious gift not often enjoyed or appreciate, I am afraid. So often I am running as fast as my legs can take me, and happy as a clam. Some folks do not enjoy life at this pace, yet it is deeply satisfying to me on some levels. I hear all the slow down and enjoy the flowers thoughts, they are very good and certainly have their place. I need to hear them more, I need to breathe them in more and certainly my body and soul needs the rest. Today has been all about recovery and restoration, and I have found it deeply satisfying. I slept in this morning. I have recovered my office from the filing demons who pile paperwork up at absurd rates. I have surfed for material to teach in Sunday School. I have watched a rerun of Columbo, taken a long bath and a delightful nap. All have been very nice and all have been restoring to my mind and spirit. I need lazy Saturdays.
But I also need those fast paced days where I run fast and hard. When I work on massive projects and small meetings, where I grab the world, organize it a little better and then put it back. That is also a part of me, of who I am. Much of the frustration I often feel is the need to explain this to folks. I know I go too fast at times, and I take on too much. I know the frantic pace catches up to me and I know it isn't a good plan to stay at full throttle all the time. It may be possible though that I was designed with speed in mind. Perhaps the Father, in His glorious wisdom, made me this way for a purpose. Perhaps the need to make things bigger, better, higher, faster, neater is compulsive and needs some restraint. Is it possible it may also be my contribution to furthering the kingdom? Has anyone thought of that? And while it is not the be all and end all, it is something after all. It is a vast improvement on the kind soul who once sent me an email suggesting I might have been put on the planet just as a warning to others.
My frustrations lead to me wonder this as well: what if all of those folks who frustrate me so much are also designed with eternal significance. What if those who's politics or beliefs make me cringe are part of a tapestry so big that I cannot stand far enough back to see the picture. That instead of wasting my resources trying to repair what seems to me to be serious defects, I applied Romans 14:4 and let the Master deal with His servants. And even more wonder.....what if those who aggravate me so with their helpful insights are an opportunity for me to see clearly my own reflection? Perhaps one becomes enlightened best when one sees a tangible example. Worth pondering, I suspect. And I would, only I am resting today.
But I also need those fast paced days where I run fast and hard. When I work on massive projects and small meetings, where I grab the world, organize it a little better and then put it back. That is also a part of me, of who I am. Much of the frustration I often feel is the need to explain this to folks. I know I go too fast at times, and I take on too much. I know the frantic pace catches up to me and I know it isn't a good plan to stay at full throttle all the time. It may be possible though that I was designed with speed in mind. Perhaps the Father, in His glorious wisdom, made me this way for a purpose. Perhaps the need to make things bigger, better, higher, faster, neater is compulsive and needs some restraint. Is it possible it may also be my contribution to furthering the kingdom? Has anyone thought of that? And while it is not the be all and end all, it is something after all. It is a vast improvement on the kind soul who once sent me an email suggesting I might have been put on the planet just as a warning to others.
My frustrations lead to me wonder this as well: what if all of those folks who frustrate me so much are also designed with eternal significance. What if those who's politics or beliefs make me cringe are part of a tapestry so big that I cannot stand far enough back to see the picture. That instead of wasting my resources trying to repair what seems to me to be serious defects, I applied Romans 14:4 and let the Master deal with His servants. And even more wonder.....what if those who aggravate me so with their helpful insights are an opportunity for me to see clearly my own reflection? Perhaps one becomes enlightened best when one sees a tangible example. Worth pondering, I suspect. And I would, only I am resting today.
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