Time Out!

Time Out!

When I was growing up, time out was a punishment. You were misbehaving and got a time out, usually five to ten minutes sitting in the ‘time out chair’ to think about and feel sorry for what you did. I read recently that time out benefits both the child AND parent, giving them both a break.

In any case, I was thinking today about my daily Bible and devotional reading, how it’s like a time out. Not that I’ve been misbehaving, but that in the daily rush and pressure it’s a chance to rest my spirit and a chance to catch my breath.

Sometimes, though, I read and am not totally present, my thoughts still running from here to there and back again. If you ask me what I read and how it applies to me, I would be ashamed to admit that I have no idea.

I find it important and helpful to pray before reading to get my mind ready for the change of pace and to switch gears from physical action to spiritual action.

Also sometimes I just read one verse or devotional article and think/meditate on it. ‘What does this mean for me?’ ‘How would this work for me?’ ‘What is something I need to do differently to make this work in my life?’ etc. Quality is more important than quantity.

When I had a little babies (one at a time) that kept me up at night and got up for the day at 6AM, I found that I had to wait until his first nap (roughly 9AM) before I got around to my devotional reading and meditating. Some days his uncles and aunts would play with him and feed him his breakfast. On those days, I got around to it earlier. Flexibility seemed to be the word in those days.

Now I’m very strict about having my spiritual input (whether Bible or devotional) first thing in the morning. My boys are twelve, nine and five years old.

But I believe the long and short of spending that time is to become more like Jesus in my daily living. There is no point in spending all that time reading and praying, only to go out and not have anything to show for it. I have on my desktop monitor a quotation that says, “That one hour spent in the gym is important, but the key to seeing results is how you spend the rest of your 23.” Of course, it’s to motivate me to keep active during the day and also to stick to my nutrition plans, but it does have spiritual parallels as well.

It’s easy to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to feel very loving towards people when you don’t have to face them. The true test comes when you’re out and about and come face-to-face with difficult personalities, unforeseen circumstances and delays, trials and temptations.

I think back to the time I was kidnapped and how the Word I had read and studied over the years was my anchor and stabilizing force that brought me through and kept the situation from being worse than it could have been. Read the full story here: https://copytestprove.com/an-extreme-situation/

All that to say, we all need a time to sit still and take a few deep breaths, whether you’re religious or not. Like the Nike ad says: