Last weekend I was doing laundry at the same time my boys and I were watching a show together on Netflix. In the middle of the episode the dryer beeped indicating the load was finished, so I asked my oldest son to press pause so we could take a few minutes break to fold and put away the laundry.
He was not happy.
He looked at me as if I had just asked him to do the worst thing in the world.
As a result, that press pause moment turned into an hour-long face-to-face discussion because I knew there was something far greater we needed to address.
And so, we talked about the importance of being flexible… and how not everything in life is going to go as planned… and how it serves us better if we learn to adjust to the ebb and flow… and how character building it can be if we choose to see the positive in any situation… and especially how easily our hearts can grow attached to the wrong things.
Before I could even process my own truth, these words came flooding out my mouth, “Pressing pause doesn’t mean The End, it simply means we can revisit it later. But first we need to talk about a few things.”
And that’s when the Holy Spirit came knockin’ on my heart.
How many times has God asked me to “press pause” on a dream, or a goal, or a plan, only for me to act as if He’s just asked me to do the worst thing in the world.
How many times have I convinced myself that where He’s leading is, “The End”, when in fact, He may just be asking me to complete a few responsibilities before allowing me to “press play” again.
I can’t help but wonder how many press pause moments I’ve turned into hour-long discussions, or days, or weeks, or months, or maybe even years, because of my wrongful attachment to a particular episode playing in my life.
Now here’s the interesting part.
After a few minutes into our conversation, my son apologized for the way he acted and we were able to actually talk. That press pause moment turned into a meaningful conversation between the two of us, and I pray it’ll be a lasting life-long lesson.
Huh.
Perhaps THIS is the reason God presses pause in our lives. He sees that our gaze is a little too fixated on our circumstances, and our own plans, and our own personal achievement. Gently He calls us back to connection, to relationship, and to meaningful face-to-face conversation with Him because He knows there are a few important things that need to be addressed before “play” can be resumed.
So perhaps this is where you’re at today. If so, allow me to say this:
Pressing pause doesn’t mean The End. Rest in that.
“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:25-26
