Deadlines! Deadlines!

I’m late! I’m late for a very important date! No time to say hello! Goodbye! I’m late! I’m late! I’m late! –White Rabbit


Has your life become one long To-Do List with more tasks than there are hours in a day? How often do you begin the day with a smack to the forehead, remembering something you meant to get done yesterday—but didn’t? (True confessions: I just stopped in mid-sentence here to go complete one such task.)

I mean, seriously. How did our ancestors ever get anything done without all these “labor-saving” devices we have to tell us how far, how long, how soon—even when we have been sitting too long and need to move around, she asked sarcastically.

Whoa, Nellie! Stop for a minute. How many of these “absolutely necessary” things really have to be done now? How many could “keep” until next week? Or next month? Or even longer (like forever)?

I’d like to challenge you this week to take time to disconnect and allow your spirit to recharge. Take off your watch. Shut down the computer. Lose the headset and the Fitbit. Power off the cell phone. Hide the TV remote. (If you can’t imagine a whole day, begin with an hour or two.) Listen to your breathing, your heartbeat. Feel a calm flow through your body. Try to quiet the gazillion ideas popping around your mind.

And in the midst of unplugging, my prayer for you is that you plug in to the one pure Power Source, the one who invites you into his arms to rest. After all, God’s deadline—is eternity. As long as it takes, God, whose name is Love, is waiting patiently.

Monday Let peace begin with you. During the day, rest from your labors; do less. Give thanks for the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. Numbers 6:24-26

Tuesday Pray today, by name, for a friend or family member whose life is in need of peace. Pray that God’s holy peace would fill their soul. John 14:27

Wednesday Pray for our Black brothers and sisters whose churches have been victimized through fires and hate. Pray for healing peace. Colossians 3:15-17

Thursday Pray for our peace officers, those men and women whose vocation is to protect and serve, keeping us safe on a daily basis. Give thanks for their service, and thank them in person when the opportunity arises. Isaiah 58:5-7

Friday Pray for the world. Pray for those enduring chaos or confusion, whose lives seem hopeless or pain-filled. Pray for God’s presence in the lives and hearts of those affected by conflict. Philippians 4:4-7

Saturday Another chance to pause in silence. Remember a time of God’s faithfulness in your life and be thankful. Isaiah 61:1

Sunday Pray today, by name, for a nation in conflict. Pray for the Holy Spirit of peace to be made manifest in our world. Give thanks for this faith family of love and peace. Isaiah 58:9-14

When I run after what I think I want, my days are a furnace of distress and anxiety. If I sit in my own place of patience, what I need flows to me, and without any pain. --Rumi


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