An Interrupted Walk

A brisk walk in the morning takes me down the same beaten path. The faster I walk the faster I can get out of the heat and on to the real business of the day. Only five more minutes. Only a quarter of a mile left. I can do it.

Then I see them out of the corner of my eye – the dark contrast of the berries against the otherwise blur of green that lines the path. 

How long have they been ripe? How long have they been waiting there for me to slow down enough to notice? 

I pause to pick one, two, and then more wild blackberries. Before I know it, my normal twenty-minute morning walk has turned into an hour of gathering nature’s sweet bounty along my usual path. 

This morning I’m reminded that the real business of each day is to face each task at a pace that allows us to see and gather God’s goodness and gifts in each moment of every day.

“I resolve to accept each situation of this year as God’s layout for that hour, and never to lament that it is a very commonplace or disappointing task. One can pour something divine into every situation.” – Practicing His Presence by Brother Lawrence & Frank Laubach, p. 27-28

Questions to Ponder

1. What is a task you do quickly each day, so that you can move on to the “real” business of the day? 

2. How do you respond to the unexpected interruptions that force us to slow down? 

3. What blessings can you see in these moments of interruption? What might God be trying to show you? 

Continue your blessings list for this month and take time to slow down and notice the often-missed smaller blessings that get hidden by the busyness of our days.