Just Stop.

Do you ever just stop?

 

Like, in the middle of your day as you're walking back from lunch - or while  you're doing your grocery shopping - or when you're sitting at a cafe - or when you go for a jog or bike ride - or on your way to work...

 

Do you ever just stop and look around?

 

At the person alongside of you - or the dog chasing a ball - or the bird flitting to and fro - or the bus passing by - or the child who just tripped - or the waiters clearing plates - or the young couple hand in hand...

 

Do you ever just stop and listen?

 

To the splash as a car passes through a puddle - or the soothing words of a parent towards their sobbing child - or the sharp words exchanged between two arguing - or the leaves in the trees as the breeze passes by - or the clatter of crockery as it is collected - or the ding of a bicycle bell warning others of its coming - or the distant sound of a siren telling everyone of its hurry...

 

Do you ever just stop and feel?

 

The breeze as it crosses your face - or the rough ground as it passes beneath your feet - or the gentle bump as someone moves past you - or the change in temperature as you pass a store door - or softest touch as a raindrop or leaf or blossom falls on your head...

 

Do you ever just stop and smell?

 

The warming aromas coming from the nearest hot food store - the fresh slightly earthy smell after rain - the sweet flowers sneaking over the fence - the exhaust fumes as you stand a little too long near a running car - the friendly smell of the pages in an old book...

 

Do you ever just stop and wonder?

 

About the lives of the people you're passing - or how many people are noticing you pass by - or how much everything just here is going to change in the next minute - or how much you're not noticing...

 

Do you ever just stop?

 

I do - and it gives me great joy to witness life. Sometimes I will even give people I see names, characters, and lives in my head, but when I do this I often wonder just how their actual lives would compare. Real life is always much more interesting, simply because it is real. But the thing I wonder most I think, is how many people here have heard about Jesus Christ as I know him, and have a personal relationship with God, our creator?

 

So... do you ever just stop... and look around... and listen... and feel... and smell... and wonder... and praise God?!

 

God Bless