We only have a few minutes!

“Slow down. Take a deep breath. What’s the hurry?”    Jeremiah 2:25

A few minutes

“We only have a few minutes,” I told my three kids as we headed into Meijer. We had already been to 2 other stores and I was done. DONE. I was weary from the many battles already fought with my 10, 6 and 4-year-old and I just wanted to get home. In addition to that, we only needed one item so it had to be fast, right? Wrong. God had other plans.

We rushed to the condiment aisle to get my mayonnaise and made it to the checkout line in record time. We used the U scan so it went extra quick. “Yes! We can go home now.” I thought to myself. And that’s when my kids saw the horse. The famous 1 penny horse at Meijer named Sandy. Caleb, my four-year-old, looked up at me and said: “Mom, do we have a few minutes?” At that moment, I wanted to say no. I just wanted to get home. But, the Holy Spirit stirred in my heart and reminded me that I always have a few minutes. He also reminded me that my kids are only young once.

The 1 cent horse

I swallowed back my original response and felt my heart softening. I responded, “Yes, Caleb we have a few minutes.” You would have thought Caleb won the World Series with the way he grinned from ear to ear. The kids each took a turn. Instead of checking my phone, I decided to dig in deep and cheer them on. Micaela, my 10-year-old, hunched over on the horse and pretended she was riding in the old western movies. Analiah, my 6-year-old, was very possessive of the horse and let anyone know if they got too close. Caleb climbed up and had a great ride. He let his sisters pet the horse as he rode.

It only took a few minutes. And those few minutes gave me a window into each one of my kids. The way they rode the horse reflected their personality. As I watched, I soaked it all in and thanked God for each one of my kids that were with me that day. I thanked Him for stopping me from answering Caleb’s question quickly. Think about what I would have missed if I said no to the horse ride.

We choose

There is always a few minutes. We just need to choose to use them. We need to take to heart our scripture verse for today from Jeremiah 2:25 “Slow down. Take a deep breath. What’s the hurry?” I know it’s hard to slow down especially when you have kids. But, I promise that when you do take time to slow down, you can hear God’s voice in a more powerful way.

How about you? Where in your day can you take a few minutes to see your kids? I mean truly see them. I encourage you to slow down and soak it in. They are only kids once. Joining you in the journey…

Heavenly Father, please teach me what it means to slow down. Help me to communicate to my kids how valuable they are to me no matter how busy my day is. Please help me to always have a few minutes for those that I love. And God, I also long to slow down so I don’t miss You speaking to my heart. I love You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.