Hello, Are You LISTENING to Me???
Friends! Have you ever been talkin’ to someone you know who has clearly checked out? Maybe they’re checking their watch, or their phone, or fidgeting— name any distraction you can think of…In your mind, you envision yourself cupping their face with your hands, guiding it back to facing you, and saying, “Hello, are you listening to me?”
In our crazy culture, this happens multiple times a day to me. Many times it’s not someone else who gently needs re-directing, it’s yours truly. Sigh.
While having lunch with a friend recently, she showed me a book her daughter had recommended to her. Quick to snag a book recommendation, I snapped a pic of the cover and later put it on my kindle.
I’m unsure if I’d be your go-to on this subject (feel free to HOWL out loud), however the book has hit me between the eyes and I’m about to reread it to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
The book? I thought you’d never ask—get a load of the title and the lengthy-but-timely subtitle: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World by John Mark Comer.
John Mark is the Founding Pastor of Bridgetown Church (www.Bridgetown.church) in Portland, Oregon. He has authored six books.
John Ortberg wrote the Foreword and some of his first words struck a chord. ( John is quoting a friend’s thoughts on hurry.)
“Hurry involves excessive haste or a state of urgency. It is associated with words such as hurl, hurdle, hurly-burly (meaning “uproar), and hurricane…It’s defined as a state of frantic effort one falls into in response to inadequacy, fear, and guilt.”
Ouch! Don’t miss the phrase, “STATE OF FRANTIC EFFORT.”
When our boys were young, all three playing sports, all over town, sometimes all over the state of Kentucky, all we did was hurry, divide and conquer, spinning plates along the way. John and I, still to this day, have no idea how we survived. Somehow the Lord multiplied our time and brought forth extra parents to help us get John Jr., Gordy, and Woody to game and match locations—truly miraculous feats!
Our author, John Mark Comer, confesses early into the book that he was so in over his head, his “soul began to tremor under God.” He began scaling back, ultimately finding a less pressure-packed job, and made it his goal to reawaken his soul, sincerely abiding in Jesus.
He adds,
Carl Jung said,
“Hurry is not of the devil, hurry is the devil.”
Alrighty then!
And even more convicting, from our author, “Hurry and love are oil and water: they simply do not mix.”
We’re reminded of the apostle Paul’s “definition of love, the first descriptor is ‘patient.’”
Another favorite quote comes from the spiritual director to C.S. Lewis, a man by the name of Walter Adams. (How fun would it have been to know him?) Think on this a minute:
Note the word, “never.”
We readers are given an abundance of thought provoking material, a lot of which centers around the Sabbath and its’ importance in our lives, plus the blessings we can experience if only we will slow down….
John Mark is obviously well-read given how many books he quotes (many of which I added to my reading list!).
The show-stopper of all quotes is this (Keep in mind this is just my opinion, but I believe you’ll agree and you’ll find even more quotes you’ll want to log into your brain for your soul’s benefit):
“The average iPhone user touches his or her phone 2,617 times a day. By way of contrast, the psalmist said, ‘I have set the LORD always before me.’ (Psalm 16:18 ESV)…..
What would my life be like if God touched my mind as frequently as I touch my phone?????”
I was so bewildered, I had to stop and tell anyone who’d listen to me about this. I also gave myself the challenge to either say, “Yes, Lord, thank you.” Or “We praise you for our many blessings today.” Or “Guide us today.” Or something similar every time I touch my phone.
Oh, and it’s wild how often we grab our phones—try to count and I predict you’ll lose count. And, you may forget to do this as I do as the day wears on….Huge sigh…
I’ll never forget Dave Stone pointing out that our phones (if you have an iPhone) power up with an image of an apple with a bite out of it!!! Hello, Eve?
Our author graciously gifts us with numerous ideas on practicing ways to unhurry our souls. In the Section on Simplicity, he gives us 12 ideas and on Slowing, he gives us 20! The take-home value is over-the-top wonderful.
Let’s close with this great reminder (also in the book) :
The Message ends the verse with, “…these are desperate times!”
Now you know how we like to close!!! Run! Don’t walk, to your nearest bookstore and grab The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. (I s’pose I should not say, “Hurry to grab a book on NOT hurrying????”)
I pray your faith will be bolstered by this book, and your light for the Lord will shine extra brightly to all whose paths you cross.
‘Til next time!
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the page above are “affiliate links.”