My husband, Les, and I have been enjoying watching the BBC TV series ‘Marble Hall Murders’ created by novelist Anthony Horowitz. It contains wonderful acting but the story line is complicated. So more than once during each episode, we press the pause button on the remote control and talk about what we have seen. Our sharing helps us to get some clarity, a bit more understanding.
During the inspiring presentation by Rev Rachel Bending, at our District day earlier this month, we were encouraged to think about the need to ‘pause’ on occasions from our busy activities and allow God to speak to us. We noted how Jesus had created a ‘pause’ when a crowd was threatening to stone the woman caught in adultery (John 8: 1-11). That pause effectively brought sanity to a situation that was becoming out of control. It led to an opportunity for a fresh start for the whole community, as well as for the terrified woman.
I came home thinking about times I find the need to press the pause button in my own life.
I know that when I am feeling overwhelmed with work and spending too long on my laptop, half an hour doing a jigsaw helps to calm me; a walk around the block refreshes me; a cup of coffee revives me; a day out in Dorset feeds my soul.
What does the word ‘pause’ mean to you?
We are encouraged to ‘think before you speak’. It can also be beneficial to stop and think before you begin a difficult task. Prayer time before a busy day, or before a time of shared worship can help us focus our attention on God and open our hearts and minds to what God might want us to hear.
Genesis suggests that even God felt the need to pause after the activity of creating the world. At the end of each day, God looked at what he had made and pronounced it good. ‘By the seventh day, God had finished his work and so he rested. God blessed the seventh day and made it special because on that day he rested from his work’. Genesis 2:2-3 CEV)
A pause in the middle of a conversation can give each person time to think. A pause for prayer in the middle of a committee meeting can give space for God to guide. A pause in worship can provide a window for personal reflection.
To Ponder:
Notice today the times you find the need to stop what you are doing for a while and ‘press the pause button’. How does it help you?
How might it help those near to you?
A Prayer:
Creator God, thank you for the times we can pause and reconnect with you.
Thank you for the special moments when we stop to appreciate your goodness. Thank you for sabbath rests that bring renewal. Amen
Have a blessed day! Alison Judd