Today on my way to an early babysitting job, I saw a hardcore runner on the side of the road. With sweat dripping down his face and muscles flexing throughout his spandex-stricken legs, I knew this guy was the real deal (did I mention it was before 7:00 am?? Hardcore, right?!). However, he was not running as I drove by. Instead, he was stopped in the midst of a neighbor's lawn... just smelling their roses... Now, when I go running, it's not uncommon for me to stop randomly for any kind of distraction- just for the sake of stopping! This guy, though, didn't appear to practice the art of stalling as I so often do. But for some reason, he considered these roses to be reason enough to stop. The joy found through a couple sniffs of nature's potpourri was worth the brief pause.
I guess I haven't thought about the phrase, "stop and smell the roses," in a while (probably because I rarely heed that advice). But the extremely literal analogy the roses-smelling runner provided this morning challenged me to re-evaluate how I can apply that phrase to my life.
I've written before about "being still," but I'm realizing what you do with that stillness is important too. I think at times I've used that desire to be still as an excuse to do nothing (at least nothing of any value to me or to others), but being still most definitely does not need to mean wasting time. Why not use the time of stillness as a time to reflect on personal challenges or growth, ponder how to edify others, focus on positive goals for the future, face inner struggles you haven't really wanted to face, or just chat it up with Jesus? You can't ever fully turn your mind off, but you can always turn it toward something good.
Times of rest don't need to be used in vain... instead of just stopping, why not stop and do something? Clearly not something physically exhausting (you can still REST), but something that will bring you and others joy.... like smelling roses =)
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