The Slow Club
During our last group time with middle school students I asked them to tell me what happened to them over the past week since our last group meeting. The kids really had a hard time naming things. Most of the kids could only recall moments they had spent in front of the TV or playing video games. This made me think about how much life we miss out on throughout the day. We don't seem to notice a lot of the small things in life because our minds are so preoccupied all the time. Even if we think we are resting our minds, they are actually running 90 miles a minute with our ipod games, internet, phones, you name it--we are busy people!
I am reminded of a story I heard at a conference several years ago. The speaker recalled how busy his life was as a youth pastor and how he was always on the go. He was always rushing out of the house every morning to get his kids to school and then rushing to the next meeting, to church, and then finally rushing back home to where he was rushing to get his kids in bed. His youngest child, who was 5, was very slow and would a lot of times get on his nerves because he would not hurry or rush for anything! One day the dad asked his son why he would not hurry up and the young boy replied, " I started a club at school called the "Slow Club" and I am the president.
One morning, the boy took his dad by the hand on their way out the door and asked him to be in the slow club. The Dad agreed, although he later tried to get his son to hurry up so they wouldn't be late for school. The boy, realizing his dad was not participating in the Slow Club, patiently told his dad that today they had to slow down. On their way to the car that morning, hand in hand, they walked, slowly allowing time to tick away. They noticed five rabbits jumping across their driveway, and also had time to spot a bald eagle. The boy also had time to notice how the clouds had formed to look like a smiley face. The boy exclaimed to his father, "Look dad, God is smiling down on us today!" The dad got into the car and was totally blown away by all he noticed that morning from the front door of his house to the car.
Take time this week to be in the slow club. Take time to notice the wonderful people in your life. Take time to notice the life that is going on around you. Slow down, turn off the TV, turn off the music, turn off the computer and take in the preciousness of each day.
