Smell the Roses....
As I look out my kitchen window, I see beautiful fresh dewy knock-out roses blooming. The color is magnificent. The contrast to the green leaves will take your breath away.
Funny, I am not a flower person. Never have been. Until recently.
Remember the story about my yard? The weeds, then the new plants, then the watering?
Well, something about the watering makes me invested in my little blooms encircling our house.
I put hours into watering. Sweat. Time. More sweat. More time.
Now, I see the fruit of all of that labor.
I want to enjoy the new blooms, soak them in. Gaze at them instead of rushing right by them.
For the past few months, I have been really trying to discipline myself to "slow down". To see what is in front of me. Smell the scent of "now". See the eyes that linger next to me. Touch the skin of those around me in the moment of now.
Perhaps this is what draws me to Jesus the most. He is Present.
The Bible tells us of a girl who touched the hem of His garment in a raging crowd. Just a touch.
And, He stopped. Turned to her. Spoke to her. Healed her.
Would I be able to feel the gentle touch of someone in need in all of my hurrying and rushing and going from here to there?
Would I be able to divert my eyes from the glare of my screen and the lure of the internet beckoning me to see things, catch up on things, engage in stories on a screen instead of my own surroundings?
Would I be able to discern the look in my children's eyes when I see they need to talk, or need my attention?
In all of my rushing and hurrying, have I stopped to notice the gift that God has in that very moment of life for me?
By trying to save time, we actually end up losing it.
We miss out on the sunset beckoning our eyes to inhale the amazement of it.
We miss out on the sunrise because we rush and scurry about.
We miss out on the little things our children do because we are always looking for the big things.
We want to rush them to grow up. To be independent. To give us a little breathing room.
Yet, when the time comes
When they flee the nest
All we want is a chance to linger in their presence. Soaking up the smell of their skin. Hanging on every precious word.
We want to turn back time.
The time that we rushed and hurried through.
We thought it was making us more efficient. More time-managing. More savvy.
When really, it just made us miss the very sweet aroma of the present.
I read somewhere once that when people are on their death beds, death looming over them like a cloud...
They never say, "I wish I would have hurried more. Worked more. Traveled more..."
But, they say, "I wish I would have spent more time with those I love..."
The deepest longing in us besides our need to be filled by Jesus Christ, is our longing for fellowship. We long to develop relationships. We long to be a part of a family, a friendship...a part of something.
Yet, in all of our jam packed calendars, looking for the filling there, we miss it.
We miss the simplicity of the now.
We miss the simplicity of the present.
Let's stop. Smell the roses. Literally.
Let's put our phones down. Let's put the mop down. Let's turn off the tv.
And look at the faces around us. The people with a beating heart and blood running through their pulsing veins.
Let's engage with the realness of skin and eyes and hearts.
Let's be in tune with those touching the hem of our lives....in desperate need of love, affection, listening to, and eye contact.
The greatest way to love is by being present.
All there. Where we are.
We will see things we never saw before. Right under our very nose.
Be present.
smelling my roses,
jill
Funny, I am not a flower person. Never have been. Until recently.
Remember the story about my yard? The weeds, then the new plants, then the watering?
Well, something about the watering makes me invested in my little blooms encircling our house.
I put hours into watering. Sweat. Time. More sweat. More time.
Now, I see the fruit of all of that labor.
I want to enjoy the new blooms, soak them in. Gaze at them instead of rushing right by them.
For the past few months, I have been really trying to discipline myself to "slow down". To see what is in front of me. Smell the scent of "now". See the eyes that linger next to me. Touch the skin of those around me in the moment of now.
Perhaps this is what draws me to Jesus the most. He is Present.
The Bible tells us of a girl who touched the hem of His garment in a raging crowd. Just a touch.
And, He stopped. Turned to her. Spoke to her. Healed her.
Would I be able to feel the gentle touch of someone in need in all of my hurrying and rushing and going from here to there?
Would I be able to divert my eyes from the glare of my screen and the lure of the internet beckoning me to see things, catch up on things, engage in stories on a screen instead of my own surroundings?
Would I be able to discern the look in my children's eyes when I see they need to talk, or need my attention?
In all of my rushing and hurrying, have I stopped to notice the gift that God has in that very moment of life for me?
By trying to save time, we actually end up losing it.
We miss out on the sunset beckoning our eyes to inhale the amazement of it.
We miss out on the sunrise because we rush and scurry about.
We miss out on the little things our children do because we are always looking for the big things.
We want to rush them to grow up. To be independent. To give us a little breathing room.
Yet, when the time comes
When they flee the nest
All we want is a chance to linger in their presence. Soaking up the smell of their skin. Hanging on every precious word.
We want to turn back time.
The time that we rushed and hurried through.
We thought it was making us more efficient. More time-managing. More savvy.
When really, it just made us miss the very sweet aroma of the present.
I read somewhere once that when people are on their death beds, death looming over them like a cloud...
They never say, "I wish I would have hurried more. Worked more. Traveled more..."
But, they say, "I wish I would have spent more time with those I love..."
The deepest longing in us besides our need to be filled by Jesus Christ, is our longing for fellowship. We long to develop relationships. We long to be a part of a family, a friendship...a part of something.
Yet, in all of our jam packed calendars, looking for the filling there, we miss it.
We miss the simplicity of the now.
We miss the simplicity of the present.
Let's stop. Smell the roses. Literally.
Let's put our phones down. Let's put the mop down. Let's turn off the tv.
And look at the faces around us. The people with a beating heart and blood running through their pulsing veins.
Let's engage with the realness of skin and eyes and hearts.
Let's be in tune with those touching the hem of our lives....in desperate need of love, affection, listening to, and eye contact.
The greatest way to love is by being present.
All there. Where we are.
We will see things we never saw before. Right under our very nose.
Be present.
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3-4
smelling my roses,
jill
