SLOW DOWN AND FOCUS

Hi beautiful people! How ya'll doing today? Do me a favor. Take a deep breath for me. Ok, now a slower deeper one. Breath in 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and Out 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Alright. I wanted to start today in a calmer tone so that we could align ourselves with today's lesson. We are on day 21 of our 30 lessons in 30 years series. I have a question. Have you ever been looking for something and you just can't seem to find it? You start panicking and throwing things everywhere trying to find this thing. Now your room looks crazy, you're sweating, you look disheveled, and you STILL haven't found it yet. Well, I've learned the anecdotes to that frenzy:

SLOW DOWN AND FOCUS

Now, this is not about trying to find your keys or your remote. Although it does apply to things of the sort as well, it is about so much more. We live in a society that is all about the grind and the hustle. We say and hear things like "I'll sleep when I'm dead", oh no baby that's not how death works... actually you're speeding up the process to it by not SLOWING DOWN.

We're all on a journey to find or discover something. The one thing I've learned is that slowing down and focusing actually helps speed up the process. I know that sound backward but it's true. Hear me out. Some of us are on a journey to find peace, find love, find joy, find our purpose, solutions, and reasons.... we're trying to find something. In our quest, we find ourselves in a frenzy trying to get to it faster. But trying to get to is fast never speeds up time, and sometimes makes things worse because now you're being sloppy, and you're also not allowing yourself time to have wisdom set in. When you rush through the process we often times miss the lesson or the wisdom that we were supposed to glean from the experience and then have to go through something else to learn the lesson. We inadvertently inject ourselves into a cycle and prolong the journey. If we would only slow down and BE PRESENT and focus, maybe we would be able to get it right the first time.

I told you all, I am the queen of having "the conversation". When trouble arises I am the first to say "hey, let's talk". Recently trouble arose between my friend and I. Every time I wanted to approach her and have a conversation, The Holy Spirit said "Wait." I wanted to hurry up and find the root of the issue, find the problem, find the solution; but, the Holy Spirit said, "Shhhh.... Wait". I JUST WANT TO TALK JESUS. "No, wait." In waiting, I had to slow down. My brain was in a frenzy, my emotions were all over the place, and my peace was not settled, but I had to slow down. When I finally slowed down the Holy Spirit said "Now look... Do you recognize the spirit at work here?" In slowing down I was able to recognize the same spirit orchestrating chaos that has been doing so in my life for a very long time. And what I have come to learn about that spirit is that it causes people to say and do things they could never take back. So had I gone in and had "the conversation" prematurely, it actually would have made things worse. In slowing down, the Holy Spirit was able to give me the eyes to see and a strategy on how to maneuver. The answer was right in front of my face, just like the remote, just like your keys, just like whatever it is you are searching for.

Yes, I wanted the solution NOW, but it wasn't time. Yes, you want to finish the project NOW, but it's not time. Yes, you want to get married NOW, but it's not time. Slow down. Ask the Lord "Give me the eyes to see and the ears to hear what you want me to do right now". TAKE YOUR TIME, rushing doesn't make time move any faster. When it is time to pick up the pace, the Lord will give you the grace to do so in excellence. In the meanwhile, take a deep breath, relax, and focus time isn't going anywhere any faster. Leave room for Wisdom.

I love ya'll for reading, and I love ya'll for real!

- Woods Lighting up the woods, one Syllable at a time