"If you can hear me, and you are sitting still......"

          I had these big ideas of posting every other week, but guess what? It didn't happen. I did great for a while, then missed one Tuesday, thinking I'd make it up later in the week. But, I didn't, nor did I write one the next week to get back on track. Part of the problem is that something else always comes up that feels most important right then. Be it lesson plans, dishes, laundry, sleep, etc. Things have a way of feeling urgent, and we give in to that. And next thing we know, we're just busy, too busy for whatever it was we put off. In this case, this blog. One important task leads to another, to another, and another, until I'm just ...... busy.
     
 The irony, of course, is that the whole point of this blog is to stop for a minute and notice life. To escape the busy and the necessary and notice the important. I wonder how much of life slips by while I'm too busy or preoccupied to notice. This week especially, I'm really bad at being still. My car is currently having "episodes" where the engine will die if it's idle for too long at a traffic light, stop sign, in traffic, behind a school bus, etc. So I have been avoiding stopping completely and/or for very long. (Don't worry - I'm not running stop signs. Just praying really hard every time I stop at one.) And while, right now, that practice is necessary for my car's sake, in my real life it is not a good idea.
       
                      God has so much to show and tell us, but he can't if we're not still. We won't hear or see it unless we are quiet and un-busy. But being quiet and still is as hard for me as it is for a kindergartner! I need a grown up version of "123, all eyes on me" or a countdown from 10, with each number said quieter and quieter. Mostly I need to remember that when the Teacher is talking, I should be quiet and listen. But like so many kindergartners, I am too busy being "busy" to even register that the teacher is talking. I  really think that a lot of kids just don't notice that I've started talking.They're still carrying on their conversation, or doing whatever it is, completely oblivious to the fact that I am trying to get their attention. It is so frustrating!!!!
   
                I wonder if that's how God feels when He deals with me. Does He ever think, "Would she just stop for a minute and look at me?" Does it make Him as crazy? I bet it disappoints Him that I won't pay attention. It makes me wonder: What all am I missing? What great views, experiences, and conversations am I missing out on because I can't stop long enough to catch them? This week my goal is to keep my eyes open. Really open. And shut my mouth and still my hands as long as necessary to notice the things that are out there. And hopefully, once I do that, I will have lots of gems to blog about on here! :)