I’m making a stop

These days I heard a phrase that said: “it does not matter how fast you move, but where you are going.”

I think we are living in very complex times. My grandparents’ life was much simpler. The man worked outside, the woman raised the children and supported the house. Children studied and performed chores at home. They had time to talk.

They lived with what was necessary to have a comfortable life, which was then to have food on the table, clothes to wear, and time to visit and share with the family. There was plenty of time to go to church and to teach manners to those who were growing up.

But today, even as Christians who have been given the gift of salvation and abundant life, we are so busy, without time to serve others, without quality time to visit relatives or share with the family that lives under our same roof. The demands of the world overwhelm us. We put pressure on ourselves to do things that are productive with our time, things that generate income. We live in a competition to compare possessions, and set goals that lead us to frustration.

We are missing like Martha, the best part. We are missing out on having time to simply delight in the presence of God. We miss experiencing that peace that only God can give. We miss that communion with God that completes our soul and leads us to feel happy even when we are alone.

They have sold us loneliness as something that depresses us. And God did not create man to be alone. God created man to live in constant communion with Him. He also gave us a physical company, but we should feel good not only when we are in the company of someone. We should enjoy our time alone too.

It is necessary to stop from time to time and meditate on what we are doing. Where am I going? Perhaps I set a goal that I have forgotten along the way and now I move in circles that lead me nowhere.

We must stop to listen to the voice of God to direct us to his will, to the works that he prepared for me since before the foundation of the world. Am I in a hurry? And where am I going? The Lord’s plans are for good and peace for our lives.

That today I can stop by the roadside to take a breath, look at the sky and meditate on the greatness of God and wait to hear his voice.

Let us pray to the Lord asking that we can experience that peace that only He can give together with that joy that we have available daily and not only in the midst of the difficult situations of life. If presence is my rest every day and your guide leads me to the abundant life that Jesus won for me on the cross.