For the past week, I've been on vacation - catching up on sleep, reading, and beautiful time with family. As in previous years, one of the items on my reading list has been The Hawk & The Dove Series by Penelope Wilcock - a series of nine books set in a Benedictine monastery that weave together periods of time by the way we live our faith. 
While reading The Long Fall in the series, the following quote caught my attention - "You're a monk. You're supposed to be humble and put your trust in God and go to ned at night and eat up your dinner." 
Ouch! How often do I try to drag out the length of my days in order to squeeze out one more email or one more project - and is my hesitancy to rest truly a sign that I don't trust God?
The reality is that we live in a time that tries to squeeze each morsel of time out of every day. But that isn't the life Benedict called people to. Instead, he brought together prayer, work, and rest in balance. A lesson that is just as needed today as it was all those many years ago. 
Let us be people who trust God with each day. 

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I am someone with short legs. Standing under 5 feet tall, I have compensated most of my life by walking fast in order to catch up with other people who have a longer stride to their step. 
This week that almost got me in trouble. 
I was in Michaels, piking up some supplies for a crafting project, when I almost ran smack into their exit doors. Doors that automatically open - but do so s-l-o-w-l-y. 
As I was leaving the store, avoiding the near incident, I realized that there may be an invitation, to slow down my hurried life, all because of those doors. While I have trained my body over the years to move quickly in order to compensate for what I had perceived to be something wrong, the reality is that I should be able to move at a pace that is contemplative more than quick. 
What invitations have you received to slow down and have you honored them?