Time flies. Don’t get lost in the blur.

When I was young the days seem to be longer, clock ticked slower, and an hour could feel like eternity. I do not recall being rushed. Almost think spent more time waiting for the next thing to happen. As I have grown older this concept has completely flipped. I am constantly rushing from one thing to the next. Days turn into weeks and months disappear in the busy cycle of life. Everything just blends together. As a child I recall distinct separation of events- it was more like a timeline. Today it feels like a blur. It is like I am riding the tilt a whirl or tea cups at an amusement park. Spin spin spinning. Before I know it I am dizzy and cannot focus. Every now and then the whole rides stops. I call this a vacation. Someday I will take one of these. However life cannot stop whenever you like. You cannot just slam the break on when you have had enough. You can however slow down. Let God have control of the wheel. Choose to notice. It is not always easy. It may take time, energy, patience, and focus. But it is worth it. For example- our recent outreach. We chose to notice. We chose to love. We chose to pause our crazy lives and busy schedules to lend a hand to a new friend by doing yard work. And what a beautiful choice it was. Please note- the yard work was not the beautiful choice. This is the only time you will ever hear me say yard work and beautiful choice in the same context. Ha. I do not like yard work. Not a bit. Raking, mowing, planting, trimming… all yuck. It is just not my cup of tea. The yard work was the act of service. It was an opportunity to help. The beauty was in the love we showed. The beauty was showing up for a sweet lady who has been let down before. The beauty was a teenage boy respectfully expressing sympathy of loss of a loved one. The beauty was how God orchestrated the right people with the right skills. I am so grateful for Jas’s ability to use a chainsaw. Seriously can you see Deb with a chainsaw? Or me! There was something for everyone. Even sweet little Emeree found a very important task. Emeree and I share the same level of love for yard work. Picking up sticks was not her cup of tea. So I sent her off on a mission to take photos. She ran around bursting with grins and giggles snapping pictures. We ended up with quite an assortment of photos. Most were blurry. Turns out she moves faster than my cameras can focus. Yet there is one truly amazing photo that stood out. This picture captured the ability to focus on a person in the midst of a blurry world. This is how God sees us and wants us to see others. Not as our circumstances or surroundings. No matter how fast life is spinning or how busy we are he can always see us clearly. Makes me wonder- how much do we miss? Do we get so rushed that we forget to notice those around us? I know I do. Sometimes I just need to be reminded to focus. It is amazing how God used the eyes and hands of a 6 year old who loves him to remind me.