Peace, be still!

Hello! It's been a long time since I have laid pen-er, keyboard, to paper, or screen, as it were. I have had so much floating around upstairs, I may need galoshes : }

One thing that I have been almost painfully aware of lately is my desperate need for rest. Plain and simple. You can dress it up in a myriad of ways... most of them don't fit.

I mean, really, who has time for that these days? We have cars that go from 0-60 almost instantaneously. We have microwaves. Drive through lines. Multi-tasking. Debt that causes us to have to work multiple jobs on little to no sleep. Kids that "need"/want everything that meets their eyes. and ears. : D. An economy with about as much security as a two thousand year old footbridge in a third world country.

How can we rest? If we don't "fix it", who will? With the crime rate through the roof, how can we trust anyone? TV show after tv show paints a morbid look at humanity at large. We don't know our neighbors, and we just keep to our own little world?

With so much angst among us, how in the world can we possibly find peace and rest?

It was about ten years ago. I could time-stack in multiples... lol.. I was in the bathtub ( I know, TMI.. just picture me clothed, it's much safer that way.. even I picture me clothed.. lol) anyway- yet I digress, of course... being still that long enough for a bath was unheard of, so I brought things into the bath with me to do.

It was about that time that the Lord started to gently PROD me to please slow down and rest. Nothing short of a lasso and electric fencing could get me to stop moving. I laughed out loud at my friend's daughter, Anneliese this weekend. She has two speeds, whirlwind and off. You can't even see her move. really... well, she IS almost three. and that would be me, also.

We even TALK fast up here. As if that helps our time-stacking routines. You only have to stop and repeat yourself over and over the those that can't hear you to begin with... *chuckle*

So slooooooooowly, but surely, and ever sooo painfully, I began to slow down- albeit grudgingly... getting older helped considerably. I began to actually notice things as I drove by, the neighbors even stopped complaining about the sonic boom that seemed accompany my car.

I moved south and that absolutely slowed me down. We are maniacs up here on the road, can I say that? When I get beeped at for not being a mile up the road AS the light is CHANGING, there is a problem... : (

I began to notice people's features, and listen.. really listen. We have two ears and ONE mouth... hmmm. interesting phenomenon... lol..

As I started to learn to literally breathe more slowly - no, that is NOT counting the wheezing and panting from climbing the stairs : - P... as I slowed, I saw that I could feel peace more and more. Of course learning not to give into the anxiety and fear is a big one, too..

We have indigestion because we EAT too fast... and we.. er, I am overweight because I/we eat sooo fast that the full button doesn't even have a chance to engage... : )

I know, I am preaching to me, too..

So here is what I am proposing...

Start slowly.... take a night and turn your phone off... they can live without you for a little while, and unless you have a pregnant or very sick family member or friend, it can wait.. : ) then make yourself turn off the computer for a while..

Get into the bath with a good book.. I know a really Good Book... : ) feeds your soul, too... : ) anyway... dim the lights a bit, and bring some chamomile tea with you. Peppermint helps with the digestion, btw...

Take a few deep breaths.. Practice it on an regular basis.. breathing is key to living... (I see the eyes rolling) Pray... Ask Him to help you. and check this out - it's in there.. and it works..

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid."

And let me know how it went. I am working on it, myself... STILL...

*thanks for reading my extra loooong rant. and thanks to Ozarks Gardens for the pic.*