When I’m Too Busy to Stop

Last night I walked in the door feeling like poo-poo.  I had felt myself slowly succumbing to some type of internal virus throughout the day, but was hoping it would pass.  It didn’t.  I walked in the door at 6PM, popped a few Nyquil, said hello and goodbye to my family, bundled up in multiple layers to combat the chills, and went straight to bed.

I had all of these plans today–a long laundry list of things that needed be done. Music to rehearse.  People to call and to meet with.  Events to finalize.  And of course, a family to spend time with.  The list goes on.  And yet, I was forced to stop.  My body said no.  I hit the wall.  As I lethargically sat out on our side porch this morning with the kids frolicking all around me, I was forced, er … no, … able to stop and observe.  Just observe.  And observation/reflection is indeed the archenemy of busyness.  Lately, I’ve been too busy to notice things.  But this morning, I noticed.

I noticed the brilliantly colored trees surrounding our home. The bright yellows.  The golden oranges.  The deep reds.  I noticed that Rainy was wearing a new outfit and commented on it.  I noticed that Zeke was in the thick of a make-believe pirate scuffle, and I was able to join in as the keeper of his treasure chest.

It’s sad that it took a stupid virus to slow me down enough to pay attention to the ordinary details of life–the things that often go unnoticed because I’m too busy to stop and pay attention.  As the old adage goes, “Sometimes you just need to stop and smell the flowers.”  It’s cheesy, yet true.  Sometimes we need to stop and observe.  We need to reflect.  We need to thank God for His beautiful handiwork. We need to compliment the 5-year old princesses God has entrusted to us.  And we need not be afraid to wield swords with scurvy-rat pirates neither … argh!