Stop and Smell the Roses

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Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest… — Matthew 11:28 (AMPC)

Stop and Smell the Roses by Joyce Meyer

Much of the world is in a hurry, always rushing; yet very few people even know where they are going in life. People rush to get to yet another event that has no real meaning for them, or that they really don’t even want to attend. We hurry so much we finally come to the place where we cannot slow down.

I can remember the days when I worked so hard and hurried so much that even if I took a vacation, it was almost over by the time I geared down enough to actually rest. Constantly hurrying definitely inhibited me from having peace in my life, and it still can if I do not stay alert to its pressure. Life is too precious to rush through it.

I find at times that a day has gone by in a blur; at the conclusion of it, I know I was very busy all day yet cannot really remember enjoying much, if any, of it. I have committed to learn to do things in God’s rhythm, not the world’s pace.

Jesus was never in a hurry when He was here on earth, and God is absolutely not in a hurry now. Ecclesiastes 3:1 states, To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven...(AMPC). We should let each thing in our lives have its season and realize we can enjoy that season without rushing into the next one.

Our pace of living affects the quality of our lives. When we eat too fast, we don’t properly digest our food; when we rush through life, we don’t properly digest it, either. God has given life to us as a gift, and what a pitiful shame to do nothing but rush through each day and never, as they say, “stop and smell the roses.” Each thing we do in life has a sweet fragrance, and we should learn to take it in and enjoy the aroma.

Are you in a hurry? If you want to be at peace with yourself and enjoy life, you must stop rushing all the time. Trust God to give you the grace, the energy, and the time to do everything you need to do at a pace that allows you to enjoy the journey.

Prayer Starter: Father God, help me to slow down and enjoy everything You have placed around me. Please give me the grace and the time do get the things done that are really important and enjoy every season of my life. In the name of Jesus, amen!