Slowing Down

If we can walk a little slower and stop a little longer, we might find ourselves finding out things that have been hidden from us.  When we only take the time to say "Good Morning" and "Have a good day," we are likely to miss out on the important stuff which is happening to someone whom God brings into our path.  It may be a stranger who needs to tell some anonymous person that his or her life is falling apart, or some friend who wants to brag on a child or a grandchild.    

Not too many days ago after leaving a moment of real conversation with a new friend, I was reminded again that we all carry around a lot of baggage which is kept closed up in some closet of our heart.  And the truth is that the difficult stuff of our life is going to stay hidden unless someone slows down enough to make us feel like we have permission to open the door. The hurried conversations that are filled with us looking for the exits hardly are those moments of permission giving.   

In Galatians 6:2 the Word says, "Bear one another's burdens..." and James 6:16 tells us, "Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another..."  A hurried lifestyle cannot accomplish these Words.  It takes time.  It takes a willingness to risk personal vulnerability.  We cannot do what we do not know.  Sitting, listening, caring, and visiting are the things which enable us to be burden bearers and intercessors.  None of these things are hard things to do, but they do require the effort of slowing down.