This morning as I sit in silence, looking out the window into the dawning of a new day, I am once again reminded about the simple pleasures of life. You know the ones to which I refer: watching night disappear as the sun’s light pushes the darkness away; watching the tranquil water of the pond right outside my window begin broken by the fish swimming just under the surface; listening to the sounds of the morning as they break through the quietness of this serene scene; listening to God speak as I once again turn attention to His Word, listening for that still, small voice that speaks so loudly and clearly deep within my mind and spirit.

And as I give thought to these simple pleasures, I am quickly reminded of the fact that I do this far too seldom. There are too many days in which I don’t take time to enjoy these simple pleasures. As the popular saying goes, “Life gets in the way.” Would you be willing to admit that this is true of you? Would you be willing to say, in honesty and sincerity, that far too many times life has gotten in the way of your spending time with the Lord?

Please understand that I know exactly how you feel. As I sit here quietly in the stillness of this morning, making conscious effort to not allow that to happen today, I am reminded, sadly and painfully, of the many times I have allowed it to happen. The countless times I have let life get in the way. The multitudes of mornings I have awakened with my mind bombarded with the demands of the day. So many demands, in fact, that I didn’t even know how to begin the day. What is the number one priority? What demands my attention first? How can I be the most productive today in tackling my ‘to do’ list? Then, in a state of utter frustration, I frantically try to make the most of the hours in this day. But, alas, there have been far too many days in which I get to the end of the day and realize that I accomplished very, very little. Not only did I not complete the tasks on the list, but the list has now grown longer. So, sitting in despair and discouragement, I begin trying to devise a plan for tomorrow, while hoping and praying once again that life will not get in the way tomorrow as it did today.

Can you identify? Do you find yourself shaking your head in agreement that the preceding paragraph describes you more often than not? If so, would you allow me to make a suggestion that could very possibly help? I know it has helped me, and I feel quite confident that it will be of great help for you, as well.

Please know that what I am about to share was learned the hard way by this writer. There was a time in my life – a very long time, actually – in which I allowed life to not just get in the way, but to stay in the way. It was a constant for me. The demands of life, and the desire to do the demands of life in short order, were the driving force behind all I tried to do. The specific time in my life to which I refer was the decade of the 1990’s. At that time I had the privilege to serve as pastor of Lochwood Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, while at the same time striving to fulfill the requirements to earn a doctorate in theology. It was an extremely busy time. I was busy, and enjoying every second of the busy-ness.

But, I did not realize the negative ramifications of my over-zealous behavior. Then, it happened. My church family, for pastor appreciation month, sent me and my wife to Colorado Springs, Colorado, for a relaxing week at Son-scape Recreation Ministries. I thought it was going to be a fun-filled week enjoying the beauty of the rocky mountains. Well, we did have some time to enjoy the beauty of the rockies, but we soon learned that we were not there for the enjoyment. We were there to undergo eight days of intense psycho-analysis. I am going to just cut through all the details, and move directly to the last day of our eight-day stay. I was told, after hours of individual and group meetings with the staff, that I was a perfectionistic workaholic. I laughed. Teresa cried. I thought they were joking; Teresa was thankful someone finally had the nerve to tell me the truth. I had let life get in the way, and take complete control.

Now please understand that all through this time I was going through the motions of having a quiet time with God every day – religiously. But, admittedly, it had become mechanical. I was just going through the motions. You could ask me fifteen minutes after my morning Bible reading what I had just read, and I would be clueless. It was just a chore that I had to do. But in all honesty, it was a waste of my time. I was not listening for that voice from above, I was just trying to move to the next task on my list.

On that day, I came face to face with the reality of who I had become. Life had robbed me of living. And because of someone being willing to tell me the truth about me, I was able to begin making changes that would allow me to live life, rather than being drug through life.

So, what are the lessons? They are really quite simple. Slow down! As the old cliché says, take time to smell the roses along the way. Enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Learn the practice of taking things a little easier than you have in the past. Begin your day with the Lord. Listen to Him speak to you through the pages of His Word, and then respond to Him in praise and gratitude. You will then be prepared in your spirit to continue to share with Him your requests and burdens. Then, be in control. Don’t let life’s daily demands control your daily activities, but rather you take control of them. Learn to prioritize. Develop the skill of being able to distinguish between what is absolutely necessary, and what has very little importance in the broad scope of things. Develop the habit of delegation. If it is not something that must be done by YOU, then let someone else do it.

It all sounds so simple, and yet it isn’t. It will take time and effort for you to develop the simple habits I have suggested. But it will be well worth it in the end. You will eventually find yourself looking back over your day with a sense of accomplishment. You will see that list of priorities being completed. You will find that you are free to stop and smell the roses, enjoying the simple pleasures of life.

So, now, have a great day! I’m going fishing!