By Erin Smith, 4.2.22
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Psalm 73:28
For as long as I can remember growing up, we were never really a “stop and smell the roses” type of family. I was raised on efficiency – we managed all sorts of chaos between getting my two sisters and me from gymnastics to dance to basketball to swimming to show choir to cheerleading… name a sport or activity and one of the three of us did it at some point. While I always enjoyed whatever new venture we were up to, we were always on the go and rarely made time to appreciate the presence of one another or made space for God.
All of that changed when I went to college. I remember that my first few weeks were absolutely miserable – I had no practices to go to, no meetings for clubs, and no friends or family close by. It was the first time in my life that I truly was faced with an opportunity to define how I wanted to spend my time. After trying (and failing) to repeat efficient, busy patterns that I was used to, I quickly realized that being present in each moment was what fueled me – not the “busy-ness”. That’s not to say that I never became “busy” again, but I found myself taking more time to be intentional in my activities and friendships and took the time to notice how each impacted my faith and relationship with God. I truly found that the more I looked to the present moment in whatever it was that I was doing, I saw more of who God is and how He fills each of my days with profound beauty, peace, and grace.
What roses have you smelled today? Where has God showed up in your day?