Slow Down

One of the beautiful days I sat down to enjoy last week.

Slow down. 

God’s been saying this a lot to me lately. In my days consumed with To Do lists and college applications and dance classes, it’s really easy to be moving so fast that I forget to love God, forget to love the nights spent at my dance studio, forget to love people.

Almost three weeks ago, we lost my great uncle Bob. While I don’t have as many memories with Uncle Bob as I’d like, the ones I do are full of love and laughter. At his funeral, his son, Tom, delivered a beautiful and well-spoken speech that left me thinking. Tom discussed how some people leave this earth way too soon, with so much life ahead of them. The beauty of Uncle Bob’s passing is that most of his life was behind him. He went on up to the Big Man, leaving a big and important mark here on Earth.

I thought about how much of my life goes by so quickly and so uncherished because I’m so consumed with the the next email I have to send or the next AP Stats assignment I need to finish.

I thought of one of my favorite songs, Slow Down by Mike Mains and the Branches. In it, they sing, “Slow down, slow down, grab a coffee here with me and take a second to breathe. Slow down, slow down, let’s be quiet for while.”

In this day and age, we move really fast. That’s not always a bad thing but it sure can leave us burned out, and emotionally and mentally drained. At the end of everyday I feel exhausted, but is it because of the love and energy I poured into the day, or am I just plain exhausted?

In the past year or so, I learned how important it is to slow down. To breathe. To cherish life.

Because, in those quiet, still moments is when we hear God.

We all will one day head up to meet the Big Man. Like Uncle Bob, will we have left behind a legacy of love for people and for life, or will we be known as someone who was so concerned with things to do, they missed out on people to love?

Slow down. 

“Slow down. Take a deep breath. What’s the hurry? Why wear yourself out? Just what are you after anyway?” // Jeremiah 2:25

In loving memory of my Great Uncle Bob.

#lessonslearned #November2015