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Month: February 2020

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Grace In The Pace

little girl running

“Hurry is the great enemy of our spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”  

Dallas Willard quoted in Soul Keeping

Recently when going to the airport to pick our adult children, I parked my car and hurried into the building entrance to catch the elevator. Standing there waiting for the elevator was a mom, her little girl, and a grandma. The mom said to me, “Looks like you are in a hurry!”  Stunned by her question, I said, “well, actually, I am early.” I was about 40 minutes early picking up our daughter. I nervously laughed and said, “I guess just naturally walk fast.” 

The other night I stopped by our grocery store to pick a few items. I had been gone all afternoon, traveling almost four hours round trip for a meeting with my state pastor. As I got out of the car, I noticed myself walking towards the entrance in a hurry. All of a sudden, when I got the produce department, I realized what I was doing. I purposely slowed down as I  walked through the rest of the store.

While I was sharing with my spiritual director today, I reflected on these stories. She shared something God showed her a few years ago while she was on a silent retreat at the Abby of Gethsemani.  While attending the 3:15 AM Vigils, she took notice of some of the monks coming in late, yet they didn’t seem to be in a hurry. Later, as she sat with that image, The Lord gave her the phrase “Grace in the pace”. 

GRACE IN THE PACE. WOW! That struck me. I am realizing that while I am on this journey…  God is teaching me to slow down. To look at the condition of my soul —to have grace in the pace.  

“Being hurried is an inner condition. A condition of the soul. Busyness migrates to hurry when we let it squeeze God out of our lives.”

John Ortberg, Soul Keeping

Note the difference between being “BUSY” and “HURRIED”:  

Busy

  • A full schedule 
  • Many activities
  • An outward condition
  • Physically demanding
  • Reminds me I need God

Hurried

  • Preoccupied
  • Unable to be fully present
  • An inner condition of the soul
  • Spiritually draining
  • Causes me to be unavailable to God

“Jesus was often busy, but never hurried.”

John Ortberg, Soul Keeping

Even when Jesus and his disciples had been out teaching all day, Jesus didn’t give them their next assignment and tell them to go on their way. He told them to come away with him and rest. He understood the importance of getting away and finding rest.

What about you? Are you busy? Are you hurried? Maybe God is calling you to slow down your pace. Maybe he is saying you need a little grace in your pace.  

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Catch A Breath

As I started 2020, I knew I was starting Something New – A Whole New Beginning. I told my husband I wanted to “catch a breath” as I started this new year, so I purposely scheduled a silent retreat in the second week of January. I would spend 3 days and 2 nights away in southern Indiana at The Springs.  The Springs is dedicated to providing a sacred retreat space for Christian Ministry Staff and Leaders. 

This was dedicated time to get away from the noise and busyness of daily life demands. It was a time to rest and reflect in silence and solitude – no television, internet, or cell phone reception!  

I knew this time away was going to be good for my soul.  I would spend time in prayer and specifically asking God what he wanted for me in this next season of ministry. 

However, before leaving for my retreat, I had a session with my spiritual director. She challenged me to sit in the space between the inhale and the exhale. Take this time to REST. Nothing more.

I love the way Ruth Haley Barton paraphrased Psalm 46:10 in her book “An Invitation To Retreat” 

“Be Still (literally let go of your grip), and know (experiential full-body knowing) that I am God.”

In other words, Let Go of Your Grip and EXPERIENCE Letting GOD be GOD in Your Life.

Ruth Haley Barton

God was calling me to let go and Abide in Him. I rested well those few days. I took a long walk and explored some of the beautiful 150 acres. I spent time praying and listening. I spent time reading, sitting and being still. 

“Spiritual disciplines are a means to prevent everything in your life from being filled up.  It means somewhere you’re not occupied and you’re certainly not preoccupied. It means to create that space in which something can happen that you hadn’t planned on or counted on.”

Henri Nouwen

When I asked the Lord to speak to me. He gave me the words, YOU are enough. Your identity is not being a children’s pastor. You are mine. I love you, Paula. 

What about you? Do you need to catch a breath? Do you need to hold space between your Inhale and your Exhale? You may not have the opportunity to get away for a few days, but you can take a few hours, perhaps a day to go to a park or go to a quiet coffee shop.  I would recommend grabbing a copy of Ruth Haley Barton’s book “An Invitation to Retreat” and diving in!

Make time for stillness and silence in 2020. You will be glad you did! 

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Necessary Endings Lead To New Beginnings

Clip from Paula's December 29, 2019 sermon

My final Sunday as Children’s Pastor at Salem Church of God was December 29, 2019. My pastor asked if I would share my journey with the church on my final Sunday.  I was honored to give the message and very humbled by the love and encouragement I received that day. 

Necessary Endings Lead to New Beginnings. December 29, 2019

There are 3 things I would encourage you to do as you begin the new year…

Find a time of day and place where you can be alone with God.

“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.”  

Psalm 37:10

Identify one  “necessary ending” that will lead to a new beginning.  

In his book, Necessary Endings, Dr. Henry Cloud says…. “Getting to the next level always requires ending something, leaving it behind, and moving on. Growth demands that we move on. Without the ability to end things, people stay stuck, never becoming who they are meant to be, never accomplishing all that their talents and abilities should afford them.” 

I challenge you to think about what necessary ending needs to take place.

  • For some of us, it could be a bad habit
  • For others, it could be a job where you feel stuck
  • For some of us, it’s an unhealthy relationship

I don’t know what it is… but God does. He can help guide you through the necessary ending and help you as you step into a new beginning.

Surrender the necessary ending and wait for God to do his work. 

According to Pastor and author, John Ortberg, “Biblically, waiting is not just something we have to do until we get what we want. Waiting is part of the process of becoming what God wants us to be.”

As we start this new year, you and I have the opportunity for it to not just be a new year, we have the opportunity for it to be a different year. A BETTER year! What would happen if you were still enough to listen to God? I believe he would give you the confidence and clarity you need to make it a BETTER year.