ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE DAY

TAKE THE TIME

Rush,  rush, rush, hurry, hurry, hurry, check your watch, check your schedule, and  worry, worry, worry! Gulp down your coffee, wolf down your breakfast, and head  out the door! Think of the thousand things you have to do today and forget about  your joy!

If  any of you see yourself in those words then you have my sympathy. That was the  way I lived for far too many days in my life. My eyes were always on what I had  to do. My thoughts were always on not having enough time to do it. My feelings  were always set on stress, fear, and frustration. At the time I thought I was  living my life, but in truth there was very little living in all of that  activity.
Finally there came a point one day when I decided that it  didn’t matter if I got everything done or not. I realized that most of those  things I had been striving to do didn’t add one moment of happiness to my life.  Instead they ate up my days and squeezed out moments I could have spent loving  others. They left no time for prayer, no time for appreciation, no time for  simple pleasures or heartfelt joys. It was then that I ripped up my schedule and  tossed it in the trash.
I  remember that first day without it. I enjoyed my breakfast for the first time in  months. I actually noticed the birds flying across the sky. I stopped my car,  got out, and walked over to a Cherry tree to smell the blossoms on it. Instead  of rushing my children home from school I took them to the park and let them run  and play. I stayed outside longer than usual when I walked my dogs in the  evening. I watched the sunset and let the warm Spring breeze kiss my face. I  thanked God for my life, felt love in my heart, and had more joy that day than I  could ever remember. And the funny thing was I still got everything done that I  needed to do.
Life isn’t some endless list of chores. Life is instead a  chance to learn, grow, and love. Take the time to love then. Take the time to  sing, smile, and have joy. Take the time to taste your meals, smell the flowers,  and watch the sunrise in the morning. Take the time to hug your children, laugh  with your friends, and help others in need. Take the time to do a good deed and  share a kind word. Take the time to pray to God, to invite His love into your  soul, and to share it with everyone around you. Take the time to become the best  possible you, you can be. The wonderful writer and educator Leo Buscaglia once  said: "Life is God’s gift to you. How you live it is your gift to God." Take the  time to live it well.

…..Joseph J. Mazzella (joemazzella@frontier.com) by way of  “Christian Voices” (www.ChristianVoicesWorldwide.net