For most of my life, from my earliest memories as a young boy, I have been in a hurry. I took the mantra of “living life to the full” to mean that everything needed to be fast and efficient. Somewhere along the way, the ignored advice of my mother to “smell the roses” began to take root. I know they were not deep roots, but pausing, even if it was only a momentary slowdown, became part of my approach to living.
The struggle to stop applies to every aspect of my life. As I looked behind me, there are so many life experiences I missed because of my need for speed. Life has taken me to task, reminding me again of Divinity’s standing invitation to experience what it is to be a god.
The punch line of a lesson I am still coming to grips with is this; it is in doing the god-line things of life that one best experiences Divinity’s touch. Recently I took time which I did not think I had to tend to the needs of another. I could have excused myself. The individual is an adult. This is one who is responsible and able to take care of the heart, mind, and soul within. As the time extended and another commitment was not met, I realized how important this time was, for both of us. One needed the attention, the other the experience of sharing care, kindness, and compassion.
I am still not sure what happened with the missed meeting. I do know that happened to my heart and mind. The lesson of what comes from responding to a Divinity invitation to care for another continues to reset my priorities.
It is a Divine priority. Not being fully present when She is needed by a child is not an option. In each situation, “[s]he gives sight to the blind, [s]he lifts up the fallen.” (Psalm 146.8). When one experiences the joy and wonder in slowing to a stop for another, one experiences the model lived out by mothers across every generation.
