The Rest Area

Life is not to be hurried.  A recent read spoke of a hurried life as one lived by amateurs.  We should all know by now the truth of what my mother always told me when the milk was spilled, "Haste makes waste!" How many time now has she been proven right?  How many tasks have I found the need to start over?  How many times has my spirit smoldered in the smoke of the short cut?   Too many times is the only honest answer.  Why we are in such a hurry to get to a small plot of ground is a mystery no one seems able to solve.  

So, we hurry on with a life meant to be lived more slowly, not in big chunks, but in increments.  The Biblical story is about a God who could have done six days of work in one single day, or even less; yet, was content to get Creation put together a little bit at a time.  The story may highlight the activity of God, but implied within all the space between the days is a time of resting and taking a holy breath that spoke of a job well done.  We live so fast we hardly have time to reach around and pat ourselves on the back.  One thing I enjoy about my bush hog work on the farm is the moment of being finished.  Bush hog work is a lot like cutting the grass around the house which many of us do.  It is nice to finish and look back at what has been done with a sense of accomplishment for a job done well and finished.  

It is something we seldom take the time to do in our ordinary moments of life.  We simply hurry from one job to another without a pause.  Life is not meant to be lived in such a way.  Life is a gift.  It is the most precious gift we receive.  It is never something we take, but can only receive.  Living with purpose and living productively is a good thing, but not if it is done in such a way that there is no time for gratitude.  Life is best lived in the slow lane.  Hopefully, we will figure it out before the hurried road exits to the final rest area.