Slow Down and Tie Your Shoes

Today's world is a fast-paced one. It seems that there is never enough hours in the day. I find that I never have real down time alone. I am nearly always either with other people or busy with something.


Normally when I put my tennis shoes on, I just shove my feet down into them. My dad always told me, as a child, that this ruins the backs of the shoes. I didn't really care. I was much more interested in getting where I was going rather than taking extra care of my shoes. As a result, I did, in fact, ruin my fair share of shoes, and it always made them uncomfortable to wear after the backs were all messed up.


The other day I tried to put my on my shoes as usual. However, last time I had them on I had tied them a little tighter, which made it nearly impossible to slip on. I was forced to sit down and untie the shoes. I thought about how often I fail to slow down for these little things. Whether it's taking the time to do something the right way or taking the time to appreciate some little thing that we take for granted.


I thought about my religious freedom. I can pray or read my Bible anytime I want. But I don't. I guess I figure that right has always been there and will always be; therefore, I can do it later. As you can imagine, it gets put off indefinitely. I think the reason for this is that since I grew up in church and Christian school, I allowed the Bible to become more of a textbook rather than a guide for my life. I stopped putting the proper amount of importance on it.


The point is that I should be taking the time out of each day for spiritual enrichment from the Word. My message to myself through this is to slow down and make time for the important things. Yeah, I have class, homework, jobs, and social time to juggle. If I can fit time in between all that to eat my meals, I'm sure I can squeeze in a spot to get my spiritual nourishment for the day. My body can't function without food; neither can I function as a member of the body of Christ without my spiritual food.


Well, there it is. Slow down and tie your shoes - or whatever it is that you neglect to do the right way or even at all.