As we begin the season of hustle-bustle and hurry-scurry, I have another guest post that very eloquently points us to what is important. A much needed reminder beautifully written by an extraordinary and beautiful (inside and out) young woman, Anne Marie. She is a friend of my daughter's who is graciously and generously living her life loving and learning how to linger in East Asia. Her wisdom at such a tender age is inspiring:
lingering
According to Miriam Webster, this is what it means to linger:
1. To be slow in parting or in quitting something
2. a: to remain alive although gradually dying
b: to remain existent although often waning in strength
3. To be slow to act
4. To move slowly
I want to be a person who lingers.
I want to linger over a hot cup of coffee before the noise of the day begins, instead of immediately feeling the need to check email.
I want to linger in the embrace of my husband's spontaneous hug at the kitchen sink instead of nudging him away so I can wash the next dish.
I want to linger in meditation on God's word instead of being satisfied to just check it off my list for the day.
I want to linger at bath time with Maddox and not care about what time it is or how much water is being splashed on the floor.
I want to linger in silence with a friend instead of feeling the need to interject with some answer or piece of advice that, let's be honest, probably isn't that great anyway.
I want to linger in my weakness.
I want to linger in the hard lesson God is teaching me instead of just wishing for the end result.
I know I'm gonna wake up one day when Maddox is grown and wish that I could do bath time with him again or sing him to sleep, so why do I try and rush through those things now? Why do I feel like I have to live life in a hurry from one thing to the next. I really have absolutely nothing to be in a hurry for.
If every moment is beautifully ordained by God, which I whole-heartedly believe is true, then why wouldn't we want to linger in them? And if we never linger, doesn't that mean we are missing out on what that specific moment has to offer? And if we keep missing the gifts that come in the moments, then aren't we missing out on the fullness of life that God intended for us?
I want so badly to go slow and savor minutes, hours, days, and the season God has me in. I want to let my child stay in the bath too long just because he loves it. I want to experience the slow and sometimes agonizing process of refinement that comes with learning the hard lesson, because that's how God shapes us and changes hearts. I want to know the extent of my weaknesses so I can better understand the extent of God's strength and grace - if I never linger in my weakness I will never have to depend on the Lord. I want to sit in the tough emotions, because there's a time for every one of them under Heaven. I want to hug Chris for a long time because I have no idea what tomorrow holds and if there will even be another hug.
Lord, teach me how to linger.
1. To be slow in parting or in quitting something
2. a: to remain alive although gradually dying
b: to remain existent although often waning in strength
3. To be slow to act
4. To move slowly
I want to be a person who lingers.
I want to linger over a hot cup of coffee before the noise of the day begins, instead of immediately feeling the need to check email.
I want to linger in the embrace of my husband's spontaneous hug at the kitchen sink instead of nudging him away so I can wash the next dish.
I want to linger in meditation on God's word instead of being satisfied to just check it off my list for the day.
I want to linger at bath time with Maddox and not care about what time it is or how much water is being splashed on the floor.
I want to linger in silence with a friend instead of feeling the need to interject with some answer or piece of advice that, let's be honest, probably isn't that great anyway.
I want to linger in my weakness.
I want to linger in the hard lesson God is teaching me instead of just wishing for the end result.
I know I'm gonna wake up one day when Maddox is grown and wish that I could do bath time with him again or sing him to sleep, so why do I try and rush through those things now? Why do I feel like I have to live life in a hurry from one thing to the next. I really have absolutely nothing to be in a hurry for.
If every moment is beautifully ordained by God, which I whole-heartedly believe is true, then why wouldn't we want to linger in them? And if we never linger, doesn't that mean we are missing out on what that specific moment has to offer? And if we keep missing the gifts that come in the moments, then aren't we missing out on the fullness of life that God intended for us?
I want so badly to go slow and savor minutes, hours, days, and the season God has me in. I want to let my child stay in the bath too long just because he loves it. I want to experience the slow and sometimes agonizing process of refinement that comes with learning the hard lesson, because that's how God shapes us and changes hearts. I want to know the extent of my weaknesses so I can better understand the extent of God's strength and grace - if I never linger in my weakness I will never have to depend on the Lord. I want to sit in the tough emotions, because there's a time for every one of them under Heaven. I want to hug Chris for a long time because I have no idea what tomorrow holds and if there will even be another hug.
Lord, teach me how to linger.
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