QUICK OR SLOW
The Five Minute Friday word prompt is quick. One of the first things that popped into my mind was the following sentence. “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.” That sentence is supposed to use all the letters of the alphabet. I’m pretty sure we used it to practice typing way back in high school. Situations sometimes determine whether we should be quick or slow. (I guess the fox was quick because the dog was “slow” or actually not moving at all).
To be quick is to be fast, I guess. Sometimes I am too quick to reply to someone speaking to me or quick to jump to conclusions. I’m trying not to do that, but instead, to wait and gather facts first. I sometimes have a habit of interrupting when someone is talking to me.
My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, 20 for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.
James 1:19-20
There are so many things to be quick about, but life is meant to be enjoyed. If we jump from one task to another, trying to accomplish a lot, we also miss a lot. I want to slow down, enjoy the moments of the day, and savor them if you will. One of my words of the year is savor, so I need to make more use of it.
Sometimes we have to act quickly if someone is in danger. Children often don’t realize danger and we have to step in to rescue them. Yet sometimes we are too quick when there are lessons they need to learn from situations that aren’t harmful.
We all need to learn to be patient, which is so hard to do. This society wants everything right now. Most of us probably find it hard to wait. We always seem to need to be doing something. Yet resting is also a needed part of life. Without it, we burn out or get sick. When we rest enough we have more energy to meet the demands of each day.
MAKING TIME TO SLOW DOWN
My five minutes have ended, but I wanted to share an older poem I wrote about running, slowing down, and seeing beauty.
SLOW DOWN AND SEE THE BEAUTY Why are people running Racing on so fast through life to who knows what Never stopping to see beauty in a drop of rain Why are people running Charging as fast as they can to get somewhere Never stopping to see beauty in a smiling face Why are people running Moving faster through each day to reach some goal Never stopping to see beauty in a summer rose Why are people always running, hurrying through their lives Why not stop this running Slow your steps so you can pause to take a breath Engage with heart and mind Be present in the moment Take time to watch the clouds Feel the breeze soft on your skin warmed by the sun Rest along life's journey Search for beauty on the way
I’m linking up with #FiveMinuteFriday. If you’ve never tried it, I encourage you to take a look and maybe write your own Five Minute Friday post.
Such a lovely poem Gayl! It’s such sweet encouragement for me today! Blessings, love, and hugs to you as you share your moments with us!
Beautiful poem, Gayl!
Make your decision quickly,
then proceed with the attack,
letting no moss grow too thickly,
never, ever looking back,
for it is in hesitation
that the battle will be lost,
and its mate, procrastination
will demand the highest cost.
Lunge ye forward from the gate,
all teeth bared and hackles raised,
caring not if it’s your fate
to be pilloried or praised,
just determined to get done
that the battle may be won.
Thank you, Andrew! I love your poem. What a call to arms for us to keep moving forward as we follow our Lord to the end. And we know that He is with us and has already won! Blessings to you and Barb!
Thanks so much, dear Bettie! I’m so glad we can give each other encouragement. Blessings and love! xo
Thank you for this beautiful reflection! I’m encouraged that we shared similar insight as I also talked about slowing down for the word “quick”. Blessings!
Thank you, Nicci! I’ll be sure to check out your post. Blessings to you!