Stop, Look, and Listen

When I was growing up down in Waycross, Georgia, I often heard the words of warning from my mother to "Stop, Look, and Listen" when crossing the railroad track on my way to the local neighborhood market.  And after the tracks were cleared, there was a highway to cross, but it was a different time for children back then than it is now.  Children were more free to roam without overwhelming parental anxiety hanging over them.     

Though the times are different, the words "Stop, Look, and Listen" still seem to have value for us as we make our way along the roads of our life.  Instead of it being a word which calls us to look out for danger, it can be a word which reminds us to slow down and see what is happening around us.  The truth is we often become so obsessed with what might be coming that we are unable to see what has already come and is right there in front of us to see, hear, and experience.    

As one who spent far too much time living in the future instead of the present and as one who worshiped at the altar of staying busy, it has been gratifying to come into this season of life framed by the words, "Pay Attention."  To pay attention, or to practice the words, "Stop, Look, and Listen" is to live life with an expectation that the Holy One can at any moment reveal Himself, or speak a life directing Word to those who are willing to live closer to pause than fast forward.