Stop and sing

Like most people, I struggle with being patient. In the small things, in the big things, I am not one of the most patient people you'll ever meet. I try very hard (okay, not so hard sometimes) to be patient. And today it hit me just how little I stop to smell the roses.
It's usually stressful trying to get the kids out the door in the mornings. We have a routine-- get dressed, brush teeth and hair, get shoes on, feed the dog, take breakfast plates to the sink, and head out. As I strongly encouraged the girls to get moving on the first step today, they were dilly-dallying, so to speak. Stopping to play with dolls, taking fifteen minutes to pick out a dress, etc. Then, Lydia turned to her CD player and loaded a worship CD from vacation Bible school. It had several songs I recognized, and Lydia proceeded to dance around her room, screaming "I could sing of Your looooove foreverrrrr!" at the top of her lungs, completely disregarding her to-do list. My instinct was to say, "Lydia, let's turn that off and get to work on heading out the door." But this time, I second-guessed myself. This blue-eyed wonder of six short years was worshipping God. She was so in love with Him and had to stop what she was doing to thank Him for His love. I chose to let it go, to let her have her time with God. Whatever we were planning on doing could wait.
I get so caught up sometimes in getting things done, in making sure everything is running smoothly and efficiently. Wake up at -:--am. Leave the house at -:--am. Be there at -:--am. I've got to stop and smell the roses. Really- what's the rush in this life? As long as I'm honoring God and obeying His wishes, there is no reason I should be stressed about what's next. I need to enjoy every glance, every hug, every sweet moment, because they won't last forever. These baby steps will grow into big steps. The glance into a gaze, the hug into a warm embrace, and the sweet moment into a pivotal, life-changing decision. Holding her hand as you walk her into her first day of kindergarten will turn into desperately trying to talk her out of going to college two thousand miles away. The times you spend buying her favorite flowers and showing up at her doorstep will turn into picking out the perfect ring to place on her finger.
Embrace the small moments, the big moments, and every moment in between. But linger for awhile, and remember the Creator of these sweet, uncomplicated days. Stop to sing of His great love for us, even if it means being a few minutes late.
((Don't you just love how a tiny life can really change yours?))