Breathe

Ouch.  “You know how to interpret the weather signs, but you don’t know how to interpret the present times,” says Jesus.  (Luke 12:56)  Ouch.

We recharge our phones and fill our cars with gas or recharge them.  We check the weather radar and dress accordingly.  We let our computers sleep and reboot as needed.

But then we don’t always show the same courtesy to ourselves.

Phones won’t work, cars won’t run…coats come in handy in the bitter cold…our laptops take better care of themselves than some of us do of ourselves.

And then we wonder why we’re irritable, forgetful, and a host of other things we’d rather not admit.

Both the Old and New Testaments indict us —

+  “God rested,” says Genesis 2:2.  We need to rest, too.

+  Again, Jesus says, “You know how to interpret the weather signs, but you don’t know how to interpret the present times.”  (Luke 12:56)

You and I can’t accurately “interpret the present times” in which we live if we can’t even take care of ourselves.

What would it look like for you to plan, and implement, some ways this week to actually slow down, even stop, and catch up with yourself?

When’s the last time you simply enjoyed being in God’s presence without a shopping list of demands for God?

Ready to schedule the really important stuff?  Let’s start today.  No, wait.  Let’s stop.  Let’s stop the unimportant stuff to make room for what matters.

Several of y’all have noticed that since Monday, my titles here have been songs.  Did you notice today’s title?   As Faith Hill, Anna Nalick, Pink Floyd and Kanye West (and several new artists, but hey I gotta stop this list somewhere) all sang in completely different songs, “Breathe.”

Just breathe.