Hurry Up & Wait

I was in a big, all-purpose store the other day-
Maybe you've been there,
it's the one where no matter what's on your list
or how short your list is,
you can't make it out of there
spending less than $75.00!

strawberry pickin' circa 2004

I heard a mom say,
"Connor*, come on"
and cute little Connor replied with the phrase
that I hear more than any other-
"WAIT, mom"
He was occupied looking at something
or something else-
I'm pretty sure he didn't even know what he
was looking for,
he just knew something had caught his eye.
*Names have been changed due to my bad memory*

The word "Wait" comes out my youngest kiddos mouth
ALL THE TIME!
And sometimes it drives me crazy- 
Unfortunately, I catch myself a lot saying
"I don't want to wait- how about 'RIGHT NOW"
*not my finest parenting :(

There was an online article that traveled around
Facebook a lot a few weeks ago-
The post that went along with it read something like,
"What's the worst word you can use with your kids- 'Hurry'"

time to hang around!!

I'm going to step out right now and declare-
I didn't open the article, I didn't read one word-
but I have imagined many times what it might have said!

There is a lot that we tell our children when we say "hurry"
and it's not always the message we want to send.

So when I heard the same one word declaration, 
that I often hear from my own son
I couldn't help but think of the complexity of those two words
             HURRY
                  &
               WAIT
Elder L. Tom Perry spoke at the BYU commencement 
and encouraged graduates to seek balance in their lives 
as they move forward into adulthood:
        “The choices you make will make all of the difference in 
         what you want to achieve,” he said. “With all of these new 
         decisions and challenges before you, could I encourage you 
         to seek and find a balance in your future life.” 

Finding the balance between HURRY and WAIT is more important 
than we realize. I find it not at all surprising that you most often 
hear adults say "Hurry" and young children say "Wait"!

But there is beauty and wonder in "Wait"
A beauty that can only be seen when we 
slow down to take a minute to really live a
life worth living. The life worth living can
be found on walks in the park,

A special blessing to catch two kiddos sharing a little love & joy

or at the beach

Nothing to do but ride the waves

or in a garden

Nothing better than wild berries growing and bursting

 and even on the way to school,

I am so grateful for the people with green thumbs so I can enjoy beautiful flowers

Life is about beauty,

Duluth, MN- we would drive 2 hours just to enjoy some WAIT time!

it is about joy

... and don't ever forget it!

Don't let the HURRY up in you
get in the way of seeing the WAIT
that is there for our pleasure-

The WAIT is the tender mercies that 
The Lord puts in our paths
each and every day-
every moment of every hour
to boost us when we are feeling low
or give us hope when we are feeling fear!

Next time you get ready to say "Hurry Up"
count to TEN and LOOK around-
Take a moment to WAIT-
because I promise, that is ALL it really takes
to see the beauty of the right here and right NOW!