“Slow down, you move too fast!” You got to make the morning last." ~ Paul
Simon
Twas early spring; Angie dawdled
on her walk home from Sunday school. She
scuffed her shoes in the warm grass uncovering a fuzzy caterpillar. She plucked a dandelion from the playground
and blew away all the fluffy stuff. She
enjoyed spider webs and wiggly worms and shiny rocks.
She couldn’t help her pokiness any more than she could her
unruly red hair or bright green eyes.
Kids sometimes made fun of her easy-going manner. But Angie didn’t seem to hear them; so intent
was she on watching raindrops or snowflakes float silently to the ground.
Even in school when she was forced into the ‘time-out
corner’ for daydreaming, Angie quietly studied the corner itself imagining the
end of a rainbow, pondering tadpoles that grew into frogs, or remembering where
to find the season’s first pussy willows for her Mommy.
Then she heard it – the first real sign of spring; that one
sound that every kid lived for, the one that sent even dawdlers like her scampering
at full speed. Before other kids even
registered the sound, Angie had already started racing toward the ice cream
truck - eyes wide and excited. Everyone
knew that if you didn’t act fast, the ice cream man could vanish quickly. She waved for the truck to stop and stepped
up to order.
“Hello young lady,” said the kindly vanilla vendor. “What have you been doing on this fine day?”
“I’ve been to Bible School,” she said pinching a few lose
coins from her pocket. “I learned a lot
about God today.”
“M’m, that’s wonderful,” he said. “If you tell me where God is, I’ll give you a
free ice cream treat!”
Quick as a flash the answer came! “I can do better than that!” she said. “Mister, you can keep the ice cream and I’ll
give you all my money if you can tell me where God isn’t!”
Ah, the wisdom of children!
Their laughter and their loveliness can soften granite.
Spring is a season that invites us to slow down, listen,
observe, and feel. In this world where
we always seem to be on the go, remember to take time each day to reflect where
you are in His eyes. You just might need
a course correction to refocus yourself and replenish your energy reserves.
Dear Lord, sometimes our lives feel so
complicated and out of control that we forget to count our many blessings and
enjoy the life You promised us. Teach us
to slow down and smell the lilacs, never forgetting that a little sunshine goes
a long way. Amen
