The beginning of March 2020 seems nothing short of a blur to me. COVID-19 has caused us to come to a hard pause, stop dead in our tracks, take a deep breath and re-evaluate what is truly important in life.
Just a few weeks ago, my husband and I were planning to travel to Spain with my sister, mother and their husbands on a much needed vacation. As I checked off my lists of to-do's one by one, going through the motions trying to figure out how in the midst of working, homework, basketball practice, church, dinner, and all of the usual responsibilities I would get everything done.
Honestly, even though I was present I began to feel detached. You know the feeling you get when you are just going through the motions. You are doing what has to be done simply because it's what you do.
But what happens when God intentionally unhurries your life? I mean when He literally makes you not only pump the brakes but come to a complete stop? When what in the past has caused you great success begins to fail or be stifled. When the times of uncertainty seem to ring loud and clear and the only thing that is certain is that things are uncertain. These things have a way of causing you to look deeply into what God is trying to say in this hour. Suddenly you go from putting God on back-burner to making your prayer time a priority because you realize you need His wisdom. The truth is you've always needed His wisdom, you've always need His voice, you've always needed His guidance. Sometimes we are just simply too distracted to see. Too distracted to see the beauty in things even in the midst of great peril.
Have you ever decided to take the scenic route on a drive? You notice everything. You try to take it all in. You find yourself easing off of the gas pedal just a little bit so you can savour each moment. It's the beauty of an unhurried life. You appreciate life and its surroundings. You value your relationships, listen more intently, YOU are fully present!
Your family needs you to be present. They need you to be all in. Our country needs you to be fully present. Many people are battling a deadly virus and they need you. Your friends, business partners, coworkers need you to be fully present. They need your prayers! Your prayers make a difference. You don't have to explain or answer for God but you can pray. In fact, the saints ought always to pray.
Philippians 4:6 (TPT) "Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude. Tell him every detail of your life"