Today’s blog was inspired by something I read today called “Down Time”
The author challenges us to examine the time(s), in our own lives, that we deem unproductive; this time of unproductivity is referred to as “DOWN TIME”. The author further challenges us to begin thinking of “DOWN TIME” as a season where GOD is allowing certain situations/events to take place in our lives so that we grow and develop, stretched, if you will. This growth spurt can catapult us into the right position to MAXIMIZE our potential. So, when you take a closer look, our unproductivity may not be unproductive after all. A few weeks ago, I told a friend that there are times when GOD needs us to “REST” before HE moves us into our next phase. I further stated that we, as a society, are so used to being BUSY that we view REST as being lazy. When, in actuality, REST is a time of mental PREPERATION, a time for REFLECTION. REST keeps us from becoming tired or jaded, and can erase the deemed failures, of the prior year or season, from our memory. REST, or as we are referring to it, “DOWN TIME” is CLEANSING!
Many never realize or even think about the benefits of “DOWN TIME”; however, during the winter months, gardeners must WAIT until that season has expired to plant seeds. The winter months are very important for gardening; the winter freeze improves the soil, and also lightens it up; the snow insulates plants that would otherwise never survive the low temperatures. The cold keeps pests and diseases under control. Now picture that from the stand point of a human life. GOD has always used nature to give us understanding of how HE wants us to operate. How many of us embrace the winter season; that time of stillness or WAITING?
Stress is one of the top killers to mankind. Why? Stress opens our bodies up to all kind of health issues that can be fatal. About a year ago I found myself not embracing my time of WAITING; I started to allow all the “what if’s” to stress me out. My body started to break out into hives and I would itch all over. The thing is, most of what I allowed to stress me out, were things I couldn’t do anything about…I just needed to WAIT; I needed to allow certain things to play out in my life. This makes me reflect back to another time in my life when I started my business and unfortunately, my business partner wasn’t fulfilling their obligations in the partnership. This situation placed such extreme pressure and stress upon me that for the first time in my life, I found myself in the hospital for a stress condition. I had no concept of what stress could take your body through; mind you, at that time, and I was only 28 years of age. I couldn’t believe I was experiencing this condition, stress, again. I did the only thing I knew to do and that was asking GOD, what should I be doing? GOD continued to tell me to just trust HIM. As the situation worsened, I decided to just embrace it and in spite of it all, enjoy life, for after all, there was nothing I could do, but WAIT. I found myself on a real vacation; a vacation from my problems...LOL. As I embraced my “DOWN TIME”, I found that many of the problems I thought I had where really not problems at all; but rather GODS way of telling me that it’s time for something new. A major overhaul was in the making. HE was erasing memories of failures of the year before, scouring my mental landscape. I was and still am being pruned, cleared of anything superfluous or undesirable. Pruned from toxic people; pruned from old mindsets and self-destructive behaviors. I know that when I come out of this season there will be no weeds, no drought and no personal idiocies. My life is being freed from impurities; my load has been lightened and I’ve been insulated to survive the lows in my life. Those that know me know that I’m a giver of LIGHT and ENERGY, and that nothing can hold me for long, because I’m a BELIEVER, and TRUE BELIEVERS understand that Our Way is already paved for us. Our job is to weather the storm; to embrace life’s lessons and testify of our GODS GOODNESS and MAJESTY to others. WAIT on the LORD I say WAIT (Isaiah40:31)
Be BLESSED my friends and stay tuned for my next GOD inspired blog of the day.
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