Linger: Living an Unhurried Life
This fourth post on my word of the year, linger, comes courtesy of a day of respite with my Women’s Resources team. Alan and Gem Fadling led us into sweet times of fellowship with our Lord, drawing from his book, An Unhurried Life. My lingering emerged from an exercise they led us through.
My schedule can be a tyrant. Not as much as it used to be, but it still wields too much power over me. Thus every invitation to linger receives a warm welcome from my thirsty soul.
These verses always cause me to slow down, pause, consider, and were especially effective on our unhurried day:
“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live. (Isaiah 55:1-3)
Four invitations beckoned me to linger--unhurried-- with my Lord:
Come
How often has our God whispered this word to me: Come. Come as a child, come follow me, come discover a surprise, come in the storm, come when you are thirsty, come and rest, come to life….
And this time: “Come, Judy, and linger. Wait awhile with Me. Don’t rush off. The schedule will wait. I love to be with you—and I long for you to love to be with Me. Will you come and linger?”
“Yes, Lord. I am here. I will linger.”
Listen
“Shh, My daughter. Let me speak. Be assured of my love for you. Hear my names for you: Friend. Work of Art. Treasure. Beloved. Remember that your sins are forgiven, washed clean, buried in the deepest sea, paid for. Know that I made you just the way you are—so beautiful—for the good purposes I have prepared for you….
Will you come and listen?
“Yes, Lord, I am listening.
”And then:
“Now, what did you want to talk about?’
Buy
“Oh Judy, I have so much to offer you. Living water to quench your thirst. Delicious food to satisfy your hunger. Abundant life. Freedom. Power. Hope. And so much more.
“But will you ‘buy’ them? Oh yes, they are gifts, offered freely. But you must receive them, accept them. Your trust in Me is what you “pay” for them. Will you come and buy?
“Yes, Lord, I will buy what you offer—I will accept, receive, trust.”
Eat
“And now, my Beloved, will you come and eat with me? I’ve prepared a bountiful table before you. Don’t eat and run. Let us linger over our meal. We have much to talk about. I have some wonderful things to tell you, and I am eager to hear your stories, your dreams, your fears, your questions.
“Will you come and eat with me?”
“Yes, Lord, I will linger at the table with You.”
What a rich, satisfying, unhurried morning with my Lord. Now, Lord, may I linger with you every day!
What about you? Have you accepted His invitation to come and linger?
C2017 Judy Douglass
Related posts:
You can find An Unhurried Life by Alan Fadling here.