Moving so fast

By Ellen Shuck

My! But things move so fast, so quickly, don't they? It seems that daylight savings time just stopped. Now it's almost time to, again, have longer days. I'm not sure I'm ready for that. But I have no choice except to accept it, or try to start a major crusade against it.

The luscious, green grass begins to exhibit tender delicate blades, then longer thicker ones appear and they, also, seemingly too soon, turn brown and shrivel from their source.

"Why is everyone always in such a hurry?" asked the little boy. It was in a city. Cars sped by in such a rush. If you weren't there, on the spot, you were left behind. Overcrowded city buses and other transit systems went roaring by, without as much as a glance. One must get a move on to walk down the steps to even exit the vehicle. It seems that we continue to add faster phones, computers, automobiles, trains and planes.

I think this is supposed to make life easier, so we can finish what we're doing, earlier, so we can arrive at the meeting, play, ball game or another activity sooner. I think I spend more time keeping my gadgets inrunning order so I can hurry and get the job done than if I resorted back to the old, or former ways of accomplishing tasks.

I talked with a youth in my family a few weeks ago. He is 15 years of age. Jack said, "I can't believe that school is getting close to being out. It just started."

Yet they say, it's the age factor that causes us to feel like life is moving faster and faster.

I've noticed that often having a conversation with someone is rushed too. I'm not being discourteous in saying this, but I'll bet many others feel the same way. People seem to be in a hurry to get their words out, to rush to an affair or an appointment. They talk quickly. It seems as if the conversation is hurried, rather than calm and beneficial. We have no time to reveal our feelings and enter, genuinely, into the meaning of what the other person is saying.

Winter is almost gone now, and I see more signs of spring, that time of new birth, growth and high expectations. I hear the birds chirping, animals come out again and bound across the yard -- and flowers begin to push through the earth.

It is a time of refreshment. Warm air flows and it warms the ground and surrounding area. People experience spring fever, oftentimes. Spring is a joyous, uplifting, and energizing time of the year. We can rise in the morning and give thanks to the Lord for the new day He is making. It is like God is recreating the earth. It's truly amazing to be a part of the universe. If you are one who's rushing about and failing to glimpse, recognize and appreciate the beauty around you, I urge you to slow down, because everything is fleeting. It is here awhile and then moves on.

Another form of beauty and creativity then takes its place and you must move on to see what that has to offer. Everything truly possesses a beauty all its own. Don't pass it by without recognizing its

magnificence. Let us enjoy what's around us.

Scripture adds wisdom to the act of constantly rushing through life. Jeremiah says, "Slow down, take a deep breath. What's the hurry? Why wear yourself out? Just what are you after anyway?" But some say, "I can't help it. I'm addicted to alien Gods. I can't quit."

We all have our Gods, if we don't watch out. One's God could be Jesus Christ, Buddha, television addiction, eating too much, or numerous other vices, in which one indulges, too much. Jeremiah 2:25 gives other examples.

Psalm 46:10 says to "Be still and know that I am God." One can't be both -- rushed and still at the same time.