Dear Friends,

I don’t know if you have ever experienced this before… I needed to get across town and was in a hurry, so I drove at the top of the speed limit (maybe just a little over), and each time I came to the stop light it was red (I didn’t even have a partial yellow). I was frustrated that I was being delayed and that it caused me to be late to my appointment. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am an “on-time person.” Then the next morning when I needed to get across town, but was not in a rush, I had plenty of time, and you know what happened. I met green lights at every signal and got to my destination in plenty of time.

I am, and we are, a product of a culture of speed. We want information and news fast, we want coffee and food to be ready as soon as we show up to pick it up. We make decisions quickly and enter into relationships quickly; our schedule is on a fast pace. No wonder we experience bad decisions, have conflicts in relationships, and miss appointments. We are just moving too fast. Maybe we need to take a moment to pause, and take a breath. Maybe we need to slow down and begin to enjoy our daily journey.

As I was going through the above experience I remembered the quote, “Stop and smell the roses.” This quote is attributed to the great golfer, Walter Hagen who wrote in his book The Walter Hagen Story the following quote, “You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry. Don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.” What a novel idea. And then lyrics from a song in my early years began to ring in my ears, maybe you remember them, “Slow down you move too fast, you’ve got to make the moment last,” by Simon and Garfunkel. I was reminded to take a breath, pause, and soak up the world around me.

More importantly, is what the psalmist proclaims to us, Be still and know that I am God;...the Lord Almighty is with us, Psalm 46:10,11.

We don’t want to be in such a hurry that we miss what God wants us to see, or that we miss seeing someone we can encourage or that might encourage us. We don’t want to be in such a hurry that we miss out on the best that God has for us.

Don’t be in such a hurry that you miss coming to church this Sunday. You might miss the best service we have ever had. Come, slow down, enjoy the moments and let God speak to you. It could be your best day ever!

Following the Son,

Pastor Mark