dailydatewithgod

Our world moves at such a fast pace all the time it is easy to get swept up in the fervor and excitement of it all.  Sometimes I don’t realize I have jumped on the fast paced train until the tracks go off the rails.  I catch myself checking a text message while in traffic, feeling like I need to return that voice mail right away, interrupting someone before they finish speaking because I am certain I know how to respond, or just walking really fast for no reason.  Even writing about it makes me want to write faster.  Moving quickly is not a bad thing but when I get caught up in feeling I must respond when I do not yet have a response or worse when the response would not create the kind of experience my heart wants, I become a slave to the thinking of the world.  One of the most powerful tools I learn on my daily dates with God is hesitation. God is never in a hurry to respond as far as I can tell.  Hesitation I have seen as helpful in my thinking even while on our date.  Together we watch the thoughts come and go without doing anything about them.  From it, I realize the power of the pause allows me to take a step back from my first thought or first few thoughts and decide if it is the one I want to dictate my actions.  Must I really respond to the email right away?  Is it vitally important that I see if the message I got is the one I have been waiting for?  Will providing an answer at this point in the conversation really provide what the person who is talking right now needs?  The power of hesitation is one of empowerment.  I am not relying on immediate satisfaction or the hit I get from accomplishment to define me.  I am better able to be present to what is happening by being with it instead of in my head.  It takes practice and consistent effort to remember to use the tool, but I have found it to be more satisfying to my heart and soul than any response I had ready to go.